H.9. 20-1709 APPROVE AN AGREEMENT WITH ACE FENCE COMPANY TO PURCHASE AND INSTALL PERMANENT FENCING AROUND THE PALLET SHELTER TEMPORARY EMERGENCY TRANSITIONAL HOUSING PROJECT AT 1521 KINGSDALE AVE FOR A TOTAL COST NOT TO EXCEED $77,725, FOR THE TERM OF NOVEMBER 17, 2020 TO JUNE 30, 2021.
Dear council and residents,
In considering a fence around the Pallet housing development I would like to remind both some who are commenting here and the task force that there is no evidence to suggest that the presence of unhoused residents in anyway threatens the safety of their housed neighbors. Assertions that a fence is necessary to protect housed people from those who cannot afford housing are rooted in baseless assumptions which are not born out by anything but anecdotal evidence.
Wasting tens of thousands of dollars on a fence and extreme surveillance around the pallet houses reinforces rather than challenges this erroneous view, wastes money, and communicates to the unhoused community that they are unwanted and that their community views them as a blight- hardly an appropriate message for something being billed as a “service.”
Now that you have chosen Kingsdale, what precautions are you going to take to protect the residents of Kingsdale that are in very close proximity to the site? You are building something close to our homes with no guarantee of protection with respects to unintended consequences. 24 hour security is limited to the constraints of the 4 walls of the shelter, how will you control anything that happens outside or potential gatherings of more homeless when news breaks that the shelter will be stationed there? Are you going to station police officers near this area to patrol? You are testing a pilot but you need to think about the residents who may feel unsafe. Considering you may vote on spending $77k on a FENCE for protection, the residents of Kingsdale and 182nd must be considered within the budget as well.
As a Street Watch LA member and resident of Redondo Beach, I am asking you reconsider the necessity for fencing around the Pallet housing site. Installing fencing around transitional housing sends the message to people that unhoused people are dangerous, should not be visible to the community and must be kept separate from everyone else. Instead, the city council should set an example for the rest of the South Bay of treating all of our neighbors and community members with compassion, dignity and respect.
Additionally, NOT installing the fence would save the city valuable time and money with this project. For $77k, the City could provide life-changing material aid to our unhoused neighbors that would be far more impactful to getting people off of the streets than a fence ever could.
I am a member of Street Watch LA and a lifelong resident of Redondo Beach. I do not wish to see the unhoused members of my community any more ostracized and segregated than they already are. On these grounds, I urge you to not approve the spending on this fence for the pallet shelter.
Many of my unhoused friends here in Redondo Beach are already wary of the pallet shelter project, considering it a sort of miniature jail for controlling the homeless. Putting up a fence around the shelter would do nothing to assuage these fears. But beyond that-- $77 thousand dollars? Really? With that type of money, we could be doing so much more for our unhoused neighbors than an unnecessary and ugly fence.
The problem I see here in Redondo has less to do with you, city council, and more to do with the culture that we've cultivated in the South Bay. It seems many of our residents have an "out of sight, out of mind" sort of mentality when it comes to the homeless. If they just don't have to see the homeless, they don't have to worry about their lives and problems. They maintain an illusion of separation, when in reality we are one people sharing this space as a single community. A fence only would stigmatize and "other" our unhoused neighbors.
As a member of Street Watch LA, I demand that my unhoused friends and neighbors be treated with dignity and respect, the same as any other member of this community. We are watching the development of this pallet shelter project with great interest and care. The city of Los Angeles has run into legal problems because they did not care for the lives of the homeless people whose lives they upended instead of properly providing for them. If the unhoused people here in Redondo are not treated with the respect they deserve, we in Street Watch will be the first to know.
Please delay the contracting of this fence, and use the money in a more effective way to provide for the unhoused in Redondo.
I am writing to you today as both a member of Street Watch LA South Bay and as a community member. I would encourage you to not select a fence contractor today. I believe that our community should not treat the poor and unhoused as criminals or pariahs that need to be kept hidden in a cage. I implore you to practice the golden rule and think how it would make you feel if your community demanded a fence be built around your home to "keep the community safe" and you "from being seen."
As you likely are aware Street Watch LA cares deeply about by the rights and dignity of unhoused people. One of the major themes I hear from my unhoused friends and neighbors is the desire for people to see them "just like anyone else." What I understand this request to mean is they don't want to be demonized and dehumanized by their fellow community members.
Putting a fence around these pallet houses is unnecessary and is offensive to some of the unhoused people I have talked to. It reinforces a narrative that unhoused people need to be kept separate and segregated from the rest of the community.
We hope the city of Redondo Beach takes seriously the rights and dignity of unhoused people and avoids the types of litigation that the City of LA has found itself in by ignoring them.
I join in Street Watch LA South Bay's call to this council to not put our unhoused neighbors in cages but to instead to treat these folks how you would want to be treated, not with suspicion or mistrust but with love and compassion.
Dear council and residents,
In considering a fence around the Pallet housing development I would like to remind both some who are commenting here and the task force that there is no evidence to suggest that the presence of unhoused residents in anyway threatens the safety of their housed neighbors. Assertions that a fence is necessary to protect housed people from those who cannot afford housing are rooted in baseless assumptions which are not born out by anything but anecdotal evidence.
Wasting tens of thousands of dollars on a fence and extreme surveillance around the pallet houses reinforces rather than challenges this erroneous view, wastes money, and communicates to the unhoused community that they are unwanted and that their community views them as a blight- hardly an appropriate message for something being billed as a “service.”
Now that you have chosen Kingsdale, what precautions are you going to take to protect the residents of Kingsdale that are in very close proximity to the site? You are building something close to our homes with no guarantee of protection with respects to unintended consequences. 24 hour security is limited to the constraints of the 4 walls of the shelter, how will you control anything that happens outside or potential gatherings of more homeless when news breaks that the shelter will be stationed there? Are you going to station police officers near this area to patrol? You are testing a pilot but you need to think about the residents who may feel unsafe. Considering you may vote on spending $77k on a FENCE for protection, the residents of Kingsdale and 182nd must be considered within the budget as well.
Dear City Council,
As a Street Watch LA member and resident of Redondo Beach, I am asking you reconsider the necessity for fencing around the Pallet housing site. Installing fencing around transitional housing sends the message to people that unhoused people are dangerous, should not be visible to the community and must be kept separate from everyone else. Instead, the city council should set an example for the rest of the South Bay of treating all of our neighbors and community members with compassion, dignity and respect.
Additionally, NOT installing the fence would save the city valuable time and money with this project. For $77k, the City could provide life-changing material aid to our unhoused neighbors that would be far more impactful to getting people off of the streets than a fence ever could.
Thank you,
Sarah Klenha
Hello Redondo Beach City Council,
I am a member of Street Watch LA and a lifelong resident of Redondo Beach. I do not wish to see the unhoused members of my community any more ostracized and segregated than they already are. On these grounds, I urge you to not approve the spending on this fence for the pallet shelter.
Many of my unhoused friends here in Redondo Beach are already wary of the pallet shelter project, considering it a sort of miniature jail for controlling the homeless. Putting up a fence around the shelter would do nothing to assuage these fears. But beyond that-- $77 thousand dollars? Really? With that type of money, we could be doing so much more for our unhoused neighbors than an unnecessary and ugly fence.
The problem I see here in Redondo has less to do with you, city council, and more to do with the culture that we've cultivated in the South Bay. It seems many of our residents have an "out of sight, out of mind" sort of mentality when it comes to the homeless. If they just don't have to see the homeless, they don't have to worry about their lives and problems. They maintain an illusion of separation, when in reality we are one people sharing this space as a single community. A fence only would stigmatize and "other" our unhoused neighbors.
As a member of Street Watch LA, I demand that my unhoused friends and neighbors be treated with dignity and respect, the same as any other member of this community. We are watching the development of this pallet shelter project with great interest and care. The city of Los Angeles has run into legal problems because they did not care for the lives of the homeless people whose lives they upended instead of properly providing for them. If the unhoused people here in Redondo are not treated with the respect they deserve, we in Street Watch will be the first to know.
Please delay the contracting of this fence, and use the money in a more effective way to provide for the unhoused in Redondo.
Thanks for your time,
Micah Ezzes
Dear Redondo Beach City Council,
I am writing to you today as both a member of Street Watch LA South Bay and as a community member. I would encourage you to not select a fence contractor today. I believe that our community should not treat the poor and unhoused as criminals or pariahs that need to be kept hidden in a cage. I implore you to practice the golden rule and think how it would make you feel if your community demanded a fence be built around your home to "keep the community safe" and you "from being seen."
As you likely are aware Street Watch LA cares deeply about by the rights and dignity of unhoused people. One of the major themes I hear from my unhoused friends and neighbors is the desire for people to see them "just like anyone else." What I understand this request to mean is they don't want to be demonized and dehumanized by their fellow community members.
Putting a fence around these pallet houses is unnecessary and is offensive to some of the unhoused people I have talked to. It reinforces a narrative that unhoused people need to be kept separate and segregated from the rest of the community.
We hope the city of Redondo Beach takes seriously the rights and dignity of unhoused people and avoids the types of litigation that the City of LA has found itself in by ignoring them.
I join in Street Watch LA South Bay's call to this council to not put our unhoused neighbors in cages but to instead to treat these folks how you would want to be treated, not with suspicion or mistrust but with love and compassion.
Thank you for your time,
Matt Zarro