In a legal victory for the city of Los Angeles on Thursday, a judge agreed to dismiss a lawsuit seeking to overturn Mayor Karen Bass’ declaration of a city emergency over homelessness and housing issues.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Curtis A. Kin granted the city’s lawyers’ request to dismiss a lawsuit from the West Side group Fix the City, which called the emergency declaration a “massive escalation of the mayor’s power.” illegal expansion”.
Bass declared a state of emergency on homelessness on his first day in office in December 2022 and promised to “revolutionize the way the city addresses homelessness.” In July 2023, she signed an updated emergency declaration on homelessness and housing after the council passed a new law clarifying the criteria needed to make such a declaration.
The emergency declaration gives the mayor’s team the power to award contracts, enter into lease agreements, suspend bidding, expropriate property and lift regulations on affordable housing production, among other things.
Lawyers for Fix the City argued that Bass was barred from making such a statement in part because city law defines local emergencies as “events” beyond the control of normal government operations. These lawyers said emergencies apply to sudden or unexpected events, such as earthquakes or floods.
“While tragic, the issues of homelessness and affordable housing did not ‘happen,’ but are chronic conditions that have plagued the city for decades,” the group said in the lawsuit.
Repair Cities also argued that the emergency declaration violated state law, including the California Emergency Services Act, which defines a local emergency as one existing due to fire, flood, storm, epidemic, riot, cyberterrorism, or various other event.
King sided with the city’s legal team, arguing that Los Angeles’ laws regarding homelessness emergencies do not conflict with either city or state law. He also disagreed with Fix the City’s assessment that the emergency declaration violated laws designed to ensure that local governments participate in competitive bidding.
Bass’s aides had no immediate comment on the judge’s decision. City attorney. Hydee Feldstein Soto said in a statement that she was “pleased” that her office successfully defended the homeless emergency ordinance. Feldstein-Soto said the mayor’s emergency declaration and subsequent actions expedited the city’s process of “getting much-needed help to people.”
Fix the City president Mike Eveloff called the ruling “logically, factually and legally wrong.”
“We will appeal immediately,” he said.
Under the ordinance approved last summer, the mayor has the authority to declare a homelessness and housing emergency if Los Angeles’ homeless population exceeds more than twice the number of temporary homeless beds in the city. A state of emergency can also be declared if Los Angeles’ housing supply is expected to fall at least 40% below its annual production goals, or if the city’s homeless population increases by more than 20% in a year.
The emergency declaration allowed Bass’ team to sign leases with dozens of hotels and motels that have been used as temporary housing as part of the mayor’s “Inside Security” plan.
The declaration also allows Bass to issue Executive Order No. 1, which greatly expedites the city’s approval of residential projects deemed 100 percent affordable. Bass said last month that more than 16,000 affordable homes have entered the city’s pipeline since the ED1 program began.
Fix the City has sued the city several times, seeking to restrict certain types of development. The group filed a lawsuit last year to block Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky’s plan to open a temporary homeless shelter on Pico Avenue in West Los Angeles, saying it violated state environmental laws.
In the latest lawsuit, Fix the City sought unsuccessfully to not only revoke the mayor’s emergency declaration but also ED 1. for several months.
