Los Angeles City Council votes to roll back anti-camping enforcement

The Los Angeles City Council voted 10-3 to eliminate 12 designated anti-camping zones within Council District 13. This decision removes protections under Section 41.18 of the Los Angeles Municipal Code, which previously allowed the city to prohibit sitting, sleeping, lying down, or storing belongings in specific public locations.

The rollback was championed by Councilman Hugo Soto-Martínez, who argued that current enforcement merely shuffles homeless individuals from one block to another and makes it difficult to provide aid due to fines and arrests.

Local residents and organizations, including the Barnsdall Art Park Foundation, have expressed strong opposition to the move. Critics warn that removing these protections from areas such as Barnsdall Art Park, Echo Park Lake, and various senior centers will lead to a resurgence of encampments, fires, vandalism, and debris in public spaces that have recently undergone restoration.