Mayor Karen Bass Tuesday lifted her declaration of a local emergency on homelessness, saying that while the crisis persists, the city now has the tools in place to continue urgent action without the temporary order she signed on her first day in office.
In a memo to the City Council, the mayor reiterated that if at any point “extraordinary authority” is needed to maintain or accelerate progress on homelessness, she would not hesitate to reinstate the declaration.
Her decision came at a time when council members have discussed steps to phase out her emergency declaration.
“Therefore, with the city firmly pointed in a new direction on homelessness, I am lifting the official declaration of a state of emergency. Let me be clear: The crisis remains, and so does our urgency,” Bass wrote in her letter. “Every day, we will continue to be on the streets, engaging with people living in encampments and RVs, bringing people Inside Safe and restoring neighborhoods across Los Angeles.”
“I look forward to our continued partnership and thank you for your commitment to serve the people of Los Angeles,” her letter continued.
Bass’ declaration of a local emergency gave her and city officials authority to expedite contracting and to launch her signature program, Inside Safe. The mayor then issued Executive Directive 1, which expedited the process and approval for homeless shelters and 100% affordable housing projects.
City officials are advancing an effort to codify ED1 as an ordinance.
The mayor also touted progress on reducing homelessness in the city, citing data from the annual Homeless Count overseen by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.
“For the first time ever, Los Angeles has seen two consecutive years of reduction in homelessness, including a 17-percent drop in street homelessness,” her letter said.
The council had last extended the mayor’s declaration in August; however, council members Tim McOsker and Monica Rodriguez launched an effort to phase out the mayor’s declaration. Under the City Charter, the council must vote to extend or terminate a declaration of emergency every 90 days — or as frequently as they decide to.
With the extension, the council also requested reports that would provide recommendations to ensure payments to service providers and continued operation of interim housing sites if the declaration were to be lifted.
When a declaration of local emergency is in place, the mayor has the ability to suspend competitive bidding as well as expedite the procurement of contracts for construction, service providers and other work related to the emergency.
Continuing the state of emergency requires regular evaluation of so-called indicators of progress such as whether the declaration is resulting in a reduction of street encampments, regulatory relief from outside and internal agencies to address the crisis, increased housing placements, increased affordable housing options and a reduction in homelessness, among other things.
Council members have recently taken steps toward a new direction in addressing the crisis, including establishing a new bureau in the Housing Department to provide oversight of homelessness programs and spending.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles County officials withdrew more than $300 million in Measure A funds from LAHSA, and will transfer staff members to support a new homelessness department.