With two area homeless shelters under construction in the area, the city of Los Alamitos at its Jan. 21 meeting authorized the reading of an anti-camping ordinance that they hope to approve as soon as one of the shelters is officially opened.
Mayor Pro-tem Mark Chirco asked Daudt if the city’s ordinance was the draft ordinance expected to be drawn up by the North County Special Planning area?
While the north county Special Planning area (SPa) is moving slowly and has not yet crafted a draft ordinance, Daudt said the city went ahead and drafted one. Nevertheless, Daudt said what is contained in the Los Al ordinance will “generally be seen” in all similar ordinances.
“Once one of the shelters actually opens, we can enforce that ordinance,” said Daudt. It is highly likely that the homeless shelter under construction in Buena Park could open in mid-March, he said, so in Daudt’s opinion, it was not too early to begin the process of passing the ordinance.
Daudt read the ordinance, tentatively entitled “2020-01 prohibiting the camping and storage of personal property on public areas.” Currently, he said, there is nothing on the books to prohibit camping or storage of personal belongings in parks or other public areas.
The ordinance, now introduced, still must undergo second readings, public hearings and a variety of other steps before it officially becomes part of the city’s code.
The city voted last year to contribute funds to the construction of the two shelters, one in Buena Park and the other in Fullerton, that will cover the 14 municipalities within the North County Special Planning Area.
Even so, council member Shelley Hasselbrink wants additional protection. She said both of the 150-bed shelters under construction could fill up quick, so she asked the staff about the “what if” scenario.
Chief of Police Eric Nunez said he would assist in providing the information, but added that the shelters were “not walk up,” meaning that anyone staying must remain overnight.
Also, said Nunez, it was his understanding that a nearby shelter in Anaheim was not always full so there will likely be room.
Nevertheless, Hasselbrink said she wanted to know “where we (Los Alamitos) are in the pecking order?”
In other action Tuesday, the council hear local “dentist to the stars” Dr. William Poe tell the council that he “honored and proud” to represent the city in receiving this year’s Americana Award.
Poe appeared at the meeting with Howard Kummerman, Executive Director of the Cypress College Foundation, who reminded city officials that they “have a big stake” in the college.
He said 288 Los Al students were currently enrolled in Cypress College, and another 66 will be incoming. Last year alone, Kummerman said the college’s foundation awarded more than $400,000 in grants and scholarships.
In fact, he said Dr. Poe had attended Cypress College before going on to USC and UCLA and eventually become a superstar dentist.
Poe and others will be honored Feb. 29 at the 45th Americana Awards. He encouraged city officials to attend. The American Awards will honor eight citizens, one from each of the cities served by Cypress College, said Kummerman.
The council on Tuesday also voted to rearrange the sequencing of district elections, given the recent resignation of council member Warren Kusumoto.
According to city clerk Windy Quintanar, districts one, two and three will be up for re-election in 2020, while the incumbents in districts 4 and 5 will face voters in 2022.
In a related matter, Chirco resigned from the Mosquito and vector control commission and Murphy gave up his alternate status to WestCom so that newly installed council member Tanya Doby could represent the city on those boards and commissions.
In other action, the board:
- Expressed appreciation to Master Sergeant Bobby Chavez for being “a really good friend” of the city. Chavez was assigned to Joint Forces Training Base until recently when he was reassigned to state National Guard headquarters in Sacamento.
- Appointed and welcomed Jose Orozco to the city’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts Commission.
- Heard outgoing interim city manager Les Johnson announce that the city had received a grant of $160,000 that will be used on the city’s Towne Center strategic plan.
- Dedicated the meeting to the late Frieda Caplan, “perhaps our most famous citizen,” who passed away last week at the age of 96. Throughout her life, said Murphy, she could “walk in and light up a room. Council member Shelley Hasselbrink said Caplan was “one of the original Rossmoor homeowners” and was heavily vested “in the business of our city. She was definitely a trailblazer,” said Hasselbrink and surely “will be missed.”