T I /,, K C C,
Jess Money
1636 Carlson Lane Redondo Beach, California 90278
310) 376- 4288jessmoney@roadrunner. com
January 16, 2025
Mr. Nathan Hochman
Los Angeles County District Attorney Via Fax to ( 213) 633- 0985 Public Integrity Division and First Class Mail
211 West Temple Street Suite 1000
Los Angeles, Calif. 90012
Re: Request for Criminal Investigation And Prosecution of:
Michael Webb, Esq. SBN 133414
Joy Ford, Esq. SBN 272094
For: Intentional and Unlawful Violation of Redondo Beach City Charter Dear District Attorney Hochman:
I am a 46 year resident of Redondo Beach which is a recognized Charter city within your office' s jurisdiction. I am writing to request an investigation into the actions and omissions of our elected City Attorney, Michael Webb ( SBN 133414) and his assistant prosecutor, Joy Ford ( SBN 272094), an at -will employee of the City Attorney, for what I believe are violations of the City Charter Section 11. 2 that stretch back years and continue today.
Section 11. 2 defines the powers and duties of the elected City Attorney. A copy of the referenced charter section is attached. In summary, section (a) provides that the City Attorney will advise the City Council on all city matters; section ( b) provides the City Attorney will appear for the City in any and all actions or proceedings on behalf ofthe city; section (c) provides the City Attorney will prosecute on behalf of the People criminal cases arising from the violations of the Charter or State misdemeanors; section ( d) requires the City Attorney to attend all meetings of the City Council and provide advice; section ( e) provides the City Attorney will approve the form of all bonds and contracts of the City; section (f) provides the City Attorney will prepare all proposed ordinances or resolutions for the city; and section ( g) provides the City Attorney will surrender to his successor all books, papers files and documents pertaining to the City' s affairs.
Section 11. 2 also provides that the City Attorney shall perform such other duties of a legal nature as the Council may by ordinance require or as provided by the Constitution and general laws of the State.
As you can see, even with the provision for the exercise of other legal duties as directed, the duties and obligations of the Redondo Beach City Attorney are limited and specific.
I believe that the following actions of the City Attorney Mike Webb, and his assistant City Attorney Joy Ford, are criminal violations of the city charter.
1. Since 2019, members ofthe City Attorney' s Office have operated a Homeless Court, funded with taxpayer dollars and grants, held outdoors in a parking lot. People who are deemed homeless ( whether they actually are or are not) are allowed to attend court hearings at this facility. These same people are offered temporary housing as well as mental health and other services provided through the City Attorney' s office. If they " graduate" from the Homeless Court program, they are assisted in finding permanent housing, again by attorneys and employees within the City Attorney' s office.
2. The City Attorney' s office also operates a " pallet shelter" program. (Tiny houses delivered on pallets in kit form and assembled on site.) This program, which receives both city funds and grant funding from public agencies, was established in December, 2020 and is located on Kingsdale Avenue in the northern section of the city.
From December, 2020 through April, 2023, the pallet shelter permanently housed 45 people.
According to the Mike Webb and Joy Ford Administrative Report [ N. 3., File # 23- 5897] ( Exhibit 2) which was received and filed by the City Council at its April 18, 2023 City Council meeting, the pallet shelter had a 62% rate of exits from shelter to permanent housing with the other 38% unknown to Webb and Ford.
Like the homeless court program, the pallet shelter is administered through the City Attorney' s Office by Mike Webb, " Quality of Life" prosecutor Joy Ford, and their " Housing Navigator", Lila Omura, a designated employee of the City Attorney' s Office. A relatively recent hire by Mike Webb, Ms. Omura' s duties are specific to the City Attorney' s office and no other departments within the City. Webb, Ford, and Omura operate exclusively out of Mike Webb' s office and at his direction.
As the " Homeless Housing Navigator", Ms. Omura' s job is to conduct outreach to homeless persons in Redondo Beach. The position was first funded in fiscal year 2021- 2022. The navigator' s job is to contact or reach out to the homeless and encourage them to be processed into the Homeless Court and/ or pallet shelter programs. It is also Ms.Omura' s job to find permanent housing for those persons she engages with. The position of homeless Housing Navigator is not authorized under Charter section 11. 2.
Nowhere in Section 11. 2 is there any authorization or requirement for the City Attorney' s Office to operate a pallet shelter, nor to hire a " Homeless Navigator". While the functions performed by Ms. Ford in connection with the Homeless Court might be stretched to constitute " duties of a legal nature" as permitted in Section 11. 2, the operation of the pallet shelter can not. Further, the City Council has not considered, much less adopted, any ordinance that modifies or amends the duties of the City Attorney to operate the court and pallet shelter, and any such amendment would have to be placed before the voters for approval, which has not happened.
While the pallet shelter program and the work of the navigator may well be desirable, they are clearly not covered by any provision of Charter Section 11. 2 and cannot be deemed " duties of a legal nature. Therefore the past and ongoing operation of the pallet shelter by attorneys Mike Webb and Joy Ford, and Ms. Omura, is in direct violation of the Section 11. 2. Furthermore, it is my understanding that every attempt by the navigator to conduct outreach of the homeless is a separate violation of the Charter, punishable as a felony and subject to a fine of $500. 00 for each violation.
3. An investigation should also be conducted into the City Attorney' s involvement in the City of Redondo Beach' s Bridge Housing program.
In the Mike Webb and Joy Ford Administrative Report ( referenced above) both attorneys have represented their involvement in renting beds within a collaborative housing program in the nearby city of Wilmington. The report states that Joy Ford and Lila Omura, on November 17, 2020, toured an apartment building in Wilmington owned by Swami International. The report states that on December 15, 2020 " the City Attorney' s Office brought a master lease for five Single Room Occupancy ( SRO) units with Swami International for City Council approval. The SRO units in Wilmington have since been a source of interim housing".
As stated above, the actions by attorney Joy ford and housing navigator Lila Omura have not been authorized by City Charter Section 11. 2. Both are representatives ofthe City Attorney' s office and no sections of the Charter section 11. 2 authorize such conduct.
4. The City Attorney' s Office Administrative Report represents that as ofApril 18, 2023, " the City Attorney' s Office received over $ 2. 8 million dollars in grants, donations and probate fees for the Enhanced Response To Homeless Program". The solicitation and receipt of these funds by the City Attorney is a clear violation of Charter section 11. 2. Nowhere in the City Charter is there authorization ofthe City Attorney' s office to conduct and operate an Enhanced Response to Homelessness Program. And there is no authority for the City Attorney to solicit and receive any funds for the program, least of all actions engaging in unlawful solicitation and acceptance of
2. 8 million dollars in grants, donations and probate fees.
Each solicitation, and each receipt of such identified funds, would constitute a separate violation of Section 11. 2. I therefore ask that the District Attorney' s office:
a) Investigate the unlawful solicitation and receipt of funds from any and all sources; b) Compel the release and production of documents by the City Attorney relating to the conduct of all homeless assistance programs;
c) Prosecute attorneys Mike Webb and Joy Ford for each violation of the Charter. ( Such prosecution authorized by Charter Section 24) and that Mike Webb and Joy Ford be prohibited from committing any further violations of Charter Section 11. 2.
In addition, I am requesting the District Attorney' s Office investigate why the City Attorney refuses to disclose the actual costs of operating the homeless court program to the public. This accounting request has been previously made but the city, Mr. Webb, and Ms. Ford refuse to release any written information.
5. Evidently it is not enough for Webb and Ford to violate charter Section 11. 2 in the ways described above. It is my understanding that once people are enrolled in the Homeless Court and/ or Pallet Shelter programs, Ms. Ford has acted as their de facto defense counsel by trying to have bench warrants withdrawn and prior criminal convictions expunged. These are not the duties for which the residents of Redondo pay Ms. Ford' s generous compensation package.
Furthermore, any successful expungment of prior criminal history puts the law enforcement officers of Redondo and all other communities at risk in that they will be in the dark about the true background of any of these people that they might come in contact with in the course of their duties. In addition, judges passing sentence in future criminal cases will be unaware of past crimes that might impact either discretionary or mandatory sentencing.
6. While the operation of homeless outreach programs may be of benefit to the city and its residents, even if such programs are administered by a different and duly authorized city department, the city still maintains a protective responsibility for the community. Incumbent in that responsibility is public disclosure of all events at the shelter, or in relation to other homeless outreach programs, that may have a bearing on public safety, both within and outside the boundaries of the pallet shelter. That is manifestly not the case.
For example, in that administrative report issued by Webb and Ford, ( copy attached, Exhibit 2, page 3) both attorneys state that 4 people passed away while participating in their Homeless Court program. Other than that minimal disclosure ( in almost footnote fashion) there has not been a report about these deaths prepared by either Mr. Webb or Ms. Ford ( or anyone working for the City of Redondo Beach) and released to the public. These deaths do not appear in city crime reports or autopsy reports, nor have the names of the dead or death circumstances been disclosed. Public record requests have been submitted to the City Clerk' s Office, and no such reports or information has been identified or produced in compliance with the California Public Records Act.
While the Charter provides that the City Attorney prosecute all criminal cases, that section does not provide any immunity to him for non -disclosure of participants' deaths in that homeless program. Therefore I request an investigation into City Attorney Mike Webb and attorney Joy Ford' s failure and refusal to provide to the public written information about these deaths in the homeless and/or pallet shelter programs.
Redondo Beach Charter, Section 24 provides, " the violation of any provision of this Charter shall be a misdemeanor and shall be punishable upon conviction by a fine of not exceeding Five Hundred Dollars ($ 500) or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding six ( 6) months or by both such fine and imprisonment. "
An investigation by the District Attorney' s Office would clearly uncover multiple intentional violations of the Charter from at least 2019 to the present. Documentation of the City Attorney' s Office charter violations can be obtained from Mike Webb, Joy Ford, City Treasurer Eugene Solomon and City Clerk Eleanor Manzano. Testimony from other city employees might also assist in evidence gathering.
A cease and desist letter should be directed to Webb, Ford, Omura, and the entire City Attorney' s office, ordering them to cease involvement in the operation of the shelter and not to engage in actions that are not authorized by Charter Section 11. 2.
And an investigation into all money received and spent on this pallet shelter should be conducted and the results made public.
Among the people your investigators should contact are:
City Councilman Nils Nehrenheim
City Councilman Todd Loewenstein,
Councilwoman Paige Kaluderovic
Councilman Zein Obagi, Jr.
Councilman Scott Behrendt
Acting Mayor Jim Light
City Manager Mike Witzanski
City Attorney Mike Webb
Attorney Joy Ford of the City of Redondo Beach
Former Legal Office Manager Jennifer Espinoza
Housing Navigator Lila Omura
Attorney Ana Papadakis, former Senior Deputy City Prosecutor Officer John Wayne Banach of the Redondo Police Department I am requesting an investigation of the above -referenced unlawful conduct by Mike Webb and Joy Ford. City records should be released allowing the public to view the actions of the City Attorney and attorney Joy Ford. Each should be prohibited from committing further violations of the City' s Charter, and I request your office determine the number of violations by each attorney and prosecute accordingly. Naturally, I am available to meet with your investigators if requested.
Sincerely,
l"
Jess Money
rf"ICIAL CiIfor the ' ° overnmeimt of the
REDONDO BEACfI
Adopted at a Special Municipal Election January 14. 1949. and approved by tlnc' State Legislatulre January 21, ing; intermediate accounting; advanced accounting; auditing; cost accounting; and municipal and gov- ernmental accounting. Said courses shall have been completed at a collegiate institution, either in residence or in extension, or in a recognized private school of equal educational standards. Five years experience in municipal accounting, in a responsible position, may be substituted for the educational requirements. 1 ] 11— as amended by election 4- 13-65 and 3- 7-23.
City Treasurer.
The City Treasurer shall be the custodian of all public funds belonging to or under the control of the City, or of any office, department or agency thereof, and shall have the power and be required to:
a) Receive and have custody of all moneys collected by the City from any source; b)
Council; Deposit all moneys received in such depositories as may be designated by resolution of the City c) Disburse moneys on demands properly audited and approved in the manner provided for in this Charter or by ordinance of the City of Redondo Beach;
d) Prepare and submit to the City Cleric monthly written reports of all receipts, disbursements and funds balances, copies of which reports shall be filed with the City Manager; e) Prepare and submit to the City Manager monthly reports as to the failure of any department heads, officers and/ or employees within the City failing to promptly turn over moneys to the Treasurer as required by this Charter or by ordinances of said city and have the authority to audit all moneys collected by the City from any source in order to prepare these monthly reports; f) Collect City taxes and license fees;
g) Invest and reinvest funds according to State law; provided, however, that the City Council may adopt investment guidelines by resolution.
The City Treasurer may appoint deputies for whose acts the City Treasurer and the City Treasurer's bond agents are responsible. The deputies shall hold office at the pleasure of the City Treasurer. The ef- fective date of this Charter Amendment shall be April 1, 1983. 1 ] 11. 1— as amended by election 11- 2- 82, 11- 4- 14 and 3- 7-23.
11. 2. City Attorney.
No person shall be eligible for the office of City Attorney unless such person shall have been admitted to practice as an attorney at law before the Supreme Court of the State of California, and shall have been engaged in the active practice of law in the State of California for at least five ( 5) years preceding such person' s appointment or election.
The City Attorney shall devote the City Attorney' s full time to the duties of office and shall not engage in private legal practice during the term of office, except to carry to conclusion any matters for which the City Attorney has been retained prior to taking office.
The City Attorney shall have the power and shall be required to:
a) Represent and advise the City Council and all city officers in all matters of law pertaining to the respective offices/ duties. b) Represent and appear for the city and any city officer, employee or former city officer or employee, in any and all actions or proceedings in which the city or such officer or employee, in or by reason of such person' s official capacity is concerned or is a party. The City Council, at the request of the City Attorney, may employ other attorneys to assist in any litigation or other matter of interest to the city.
c) Prosecute on behalf of the People any and all criminal cases arising from violations of this Charter or city ordinances; the City Attorney shall prosecute violations of State misdemeanors, unless otherwise directed by the City Council,
d) Attend all meetings of the City Council, unless excused, and give the City Attorney's advice or opinion orally or in writing whenever requested to do so by the City Council or by any boards or officers of the city.
e) Approve the form of all bonds given to, and all contracts made by, the city, endorsing the City Attorney' s approval thereon in writing. f) Prepare any and all proposed ordinances or resolutions for the city and amendments thereto. g) On vacating office, surrender to the City Attorney' s successor all books, papers, files, and documents pertaining to the city' s affairs.
The City Attorney may appoint such assistant city attorneys or deputy city attorneys who shall serve the City Attorney. Such assistant city attorneys or deputy city attorneys shall not be included in the classified service and shall be subject to removal by the City Attorney.
The City Attorney shall perform such other duties of a legal nature as the Council may by ordinance require or as provided by the Constitution and general laws of the State. 1] 99. 2— as amended by election 4- 95- 75, 8- 5-84 and 3- 7-23.
11. 3. ( Dity Judge. (Repealed by election 4- 15- 75).
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N. 3., File # 23- 5897
To:
From:
PROSECUTOR
TITLE
DISCUSSION AND
THE STATUS OF
CLINICIAN
Administrative
Report
Meeting Date: 4/ 18/ 2023
MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
MICHAEL W. WEBB, CITY ATTORNEY JOY ABAQUIN FORD, QUALITY OF LIFE
POSSIBLE ACTION ON A STRATEGIC PLAN OBJECTIVE TO REPORT ON
HOMELESS SERVICES, METRICS AND A DEDICATED MENTAL HEALTH
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On September 1, 2022, the City Council added an item to the City Strategic Plan, directing staff to report to Council on the status of homeless services and metrics as well as on the progress for providing a dedicated mental health clinician. The Enhanced Response to Homelessness Program has shown substantial results in moving many people off the streets and into permanent housing by responding to community concerns and reducing barriers to permanent housing. This has been accomplished through various efforts the City Attorney' s Office made such as the Redondo Beach Homeless Court, Pallet Shelter, Bridge Housing, hiring Homeless Housing Navigator, Lila Omura, as well as the support and joint efforts of the South Bay Cities Council of Governments. At this time, a dedicated mental health clinician has not been employed.
BACKGROUND
The 2022 Redondo Beach Point -in -Time count of people experiencing homelessness was conducted on the night of February 23, 2022, by volunteers and the Redondo Beach Police Department. On September 8, 2022, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority ( LAHSA) released the results of the 2022 Homeless Count. The results estimated that 99 people were experiencing homelessness in the City of Redondo Beach, the lowest it has been since 2013. This estimate of 99 people includes a count of 15 people residing at the Redondo Beach Pallet Shelter, whether or not all fifteen individuals were present at the Pallet Shelter at the time of the count.
A Point -in -Time count was not conducted in 2021 due to the COVID pandemic. In 2020, the Redondo Beach estimate was 176 people experiencing homelessness. From 2020 to 2022, the estimated number of people experiencing homelessness increased countywide by 4. 1 % and in Service Planning Area 8 ( SPA 8) by 17. 4% Regardless, the number of people experiencing homelessness in the City of Redondo Beach decreased by 44. 0%.
1 N. 3., File # 23- 5897 Meeting Date: 4/ 18/ 2023
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The unsheltered population is the total number of people counted by volunteers and the estimated number of people sleeping in the dwellings counted by volunteers. The total persons in uninhabitable dwellings is an extrapolation based on a sampling approach for each type ( car, van, camper/ RV, tent, or makeshift shelter). Estimates of the people inside these dwellings was rounded to whole numbers for the purposes of the LAHSA dashboard.
LAHSA Homeless Count by City/ Community Dashboard: Redondo Beach ( December 5, 2022) < https:// www. lahsa. ol-g/ data? id= 54- homeless- count- by- city- community>>. ) When the City Attorney' s Office discovered there would be no point in time count in 2021, our office contracted with City Net to conduct a census of Redondo Beach' s homeless population. City Net takes a different approach than the county point -in -time count. City Net conducted a census of people experiencing homelessness in Redondo Beach on the morning of March 29, 2022 and the evening of March 31, 2022. The census reported unsheltered and sheltered people separately. The report notes that all fifteen individuals were in the Redondo Beach Pallet Shelter on both the 2911' and the 31st of March. Because the census occurred over multiple days, unsheltered individuals who chose not to complete the survey may have been counted more than once. The results of the census revealed 85 unsheltered people experiencing homelessness in Redondo Beach, a decrease from 92, the total unsheltered count in 2021.
The 2023 LAHSA Point -in -Time count was conducted on the night of January 25, 2023. Results from this count will not be available until later in the year. While we cannot account for the newly unhoused in Redondo Beach, we know that in the past year, about 60 people have been permanently housed between Homeless Court, Pallet Shelter, our SPA 8 bridge housing, joint efforts with Ronson Chu, Senior Project Manager for Homeless Services from the South Bay Cities Council of Governments ( SBCCOG) and Homeless Housing Navigator Lila Omura. This does not include the number of people permanently housed by Harbor Interfaith, PATH and City Net separate and apart
2 N. 3., File # 23- 5897 Meeting Date: 4/ 18/ 2023
from these projects. Although reports from Harbor Interfaith, PATH and City Net also reflect success of permanently housed clients, those reports do not account for the metrics of those housed clients that were housed because of Homeless Court and the Pallet Shelter. It would be safe to say that more than 60 people have been permanently housed. In addition, new interim housing recently opened in Los Angeles prior to the 2023 point in time count; with this opening, Lila Omura, Harbor Interfaith and the Redondo Beach Police department were able to get 33 people off the streets and into interim housing.
Homeless Court
In 2019, then Senior Deputy City Prosecutor, Ana Papadakis, initiated Redondo Beach' s Homeless Court. When the COVID- 19 pandemic hit, the City Attorney' s Office created the first outdoor Homeless Court in Los Angeles County. It took two months to hold the first outdoor Homeless court session from the first conversation with the Honorable Judge Alan Honeycutt, faster than other jurisdictions that are trying to create a similar Homeless Court. Since 2019, 101 people attended Homeless Court and accepted services. A total of 41 people graduated from the Redondo Beach Homeless Court, moving into permanent housing. 41 people, not necessarily the same as the 41 graduates, were placed in interim housing. Nine people exited the program either voluntarily or because they failed to participate. Four people passed away while participating in the program.
Eight people were found to be incompetent to stand trial, so they were referred to and treated in mental health court. There are currently 39 active participants in Homeless Court. Although this is a population that usually fails to appear to their court hearings, there is an average attendance rate of 79% since bringing Homeless Court outdoors, with some months at 100% in attendance.
Pallet Shelter
In Septomber of 2020, the City Attorney' s Office was invited to present to the SBCCOG' s Homeless Services Task Force about Homeless Court. At that same meeting, there was a presentation on pallet shelters. Immediately after the meeting, Councilmember Christian Horvath and City Attorney Mike Webb contacted each other to discuss purchasing pallet shelters for Redondo Beach, which were fully occupied within three months. The Pallet Shelter has served as one of the Program' s interim housing locations for participants. The shelter has permanently housed 45 people since opening in December, 2020, with 20 people currently residing there and a waitlist of at least 6 people at any time. The Redondo Beach Pallet Shelter has a 62% rate of exits from shelter to permanent housing. For comparison, the SPA 8 percentage rate of exits to permanent housing is 17%. While working with the County to fund the pallet shelter, the Permanent Local Housing Allocation ( PLHA) was brought to the City Attorney' s attention as a source of funding, a fund that the Community Services Department did not apply to despite knowing about it for over a year.
PLHA provides state funding to local governments in California for housing -related projects and programs that assist in addressing the unmet housing needs. The PLHA formula allocations estimates the City will receive approximately $ 784, 980 for years 2019 to 2023, a low estimate and is subject to change based on the number of real estate transactions recorded each year.
Bridge Housing
On August 4, 2020, the Mayor and City Council directed the City Attorney' s Office to prepare and return documents to rent beds within a collaborative housing program in a nearby city within SPA 8 to house people experiencing homelessness. On November 17, 2020, Quality of Life Prosecutor Joy
3 N. 3., File # 23- 5897 Meeting Date: 4/ 18/ 2023
Abaquin Ford and Homeless Housing Navigator Lila Omura toured an apartment building in the City of Wilmington owned by Swami International. On December 15, 2020, the City Attorney' s Office brought a master lease for five Single Room Occupancy ( SRO) units with Swami International for City Council approval. The SRO units in Wilmington have since been a source of interim housing.
City Net, PATH, Harbor Interfaith and Lila Omura have placed nineteen people in the SROs: Nine of which subsequently moved into permanent housing and five currently residing there. That is a 47 percentage rate of exits to permanent housing solutions.
Grants and Awards
The City Attorney' s Office received over $2.8 million dollars in grants, donations and probate fees for the Enhanced Response to Homelessness Program. Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi granted 500, 000 of his discretionary funds for Homeless Court, Los Angeles Board of Supervisor Janice Hahn granted $ 100, 000 of her discretionary funds for Homeless Court. In Fiscal Year 2020- 2021, the SBCCOG granted $ 245, 287 of Measure H Innovative Funds for the Enhanced Response to Homelessness Program. In the following application round, the SBCCOG granted $ 306, 299 of Measure H Innovative Funds for bridge housing, services, and the addition of Hermosa Beach to Redondo' s Homeless Court. The Los Angeles Chief Executive Office - Homelessness Initiative' s Office granted $ 250, 000 of Measure H funds for capital improvements to the Pallet Shelter to reduce operational costs. Quality of Life Prosecutor Joy Abaquin Ford applied for funding from the Los Angeles County Cities and Councils of Governments Interim Housing Services Fund ( CCOGIHS) and the PLHA for operational costs of the Pallet Shelter. The county awarded $ 583, 971 from the CCOGIHS fund and the state awarded $ 784, 980 from the PLHA. Saint Andrews Presbyterian Church donated $ 4000 towards the Enhanced Response to Homelessness Program. Joy Abaquin Ford was named the executor of a prior resident' s estate on the City' s behalf, so the City received 23,454. 17 in statutory and extraordinary commissions for the administrative services rendered by Joy Abaquin Ford. Those commissions started the Quality of Life Donation Fund in April of 2022, and since then, various residents have made over a thousand dollars in donations to that fund. City Attorney Mike Webb met with Beach Cities Health District ( BCHD) CEO Tom Bakaly about various needs the City had related to homelessness. BCHD granted Redondo Beach $ 50,000 for homeless related services. The City Attorney' s Office also received the 2022 Helen Putnam Award for Excellence under the Housing Programs and Innovation category for the Enhanced Response to Homelessness Program.
Homeless Housing Navigator
During the budget process for Fiscal Year 2021- 2022, the City Attorney' s Office proposed a Decision Package to hire a City Homeless Housing Navigator. Redondo Beach Homeless Housing Navigator Lila Omura has played a key role in getting several people off the streets. In 2022, Lila permanently housed 38 people through various means such as permanent supportive housing ( PSH), Housing Vouchers, reunification, relocation, etc., and matched 18 people to sources of permanent housing. In addition, she has placed 107 people in interim housing ( shelters, hospitals, treatment programs, etc.).
Lila' s work goes beyond housing placement. She also served as a case/ retention manager for 16 clients after they were permanently housed, and prevented three families from losing their homes with the help of Ronson Chu and his team from the SBCCOG.
Lila first started outreaching in Redondo Beach in November 2017 under Harbor Interfaith. She met with Quality of Life Officer Keith Turner, and asked him to identify the top ten people in Redondo
4 N. 3., File # 23- 5897 Meeting Date: 4/ 18/ 2023
Beach needing homeless services. One suggested by Officer Turner was a single elderly female often seen at the 405- freeway off -ramp at Inglewood Avenue; she had been in that location for years and generated the most calls for service. Lila outreached to her weekly, but the client' s mental health illness prevented her from accepting help. The client also refused help from several other service providers. On one occasion the client chased a director down Inglewood, endangering staff members and resulting in her being exited from a full service partnership ( FSP) program for mental health. Mental Health America of Los Angeles ( MHALA) clinicians assisted the client weekly with Lila, but exited her from their program after a year. The client continued to be arrested and placed on 5150 holds for years. Lila continued her outreach, even visiting the client at the Lynwood Woman' s jail to try to get her to accept help at the request of the City Prosecutor' s office, but she always declined. About six months ago, after the City Attorney' s Office hired Lila as the Homeless Housing Navigator, the client was taken on another 5150 hold. Instead of being released, the hospital transferred her to a psychiatric facility for a two month stay wherein she was administered medication and became stable. The very morning after she was released, Lila again met with her at the 405 freeway where the client finally accepted services, and agreed to sign up for the pallet shelter. Lila worked with Ronson Chu and his team at the SBCCOG, to place the client in a motel that evening for a week. Lila wanted her to stay off the streets before she leaves, becomes unstable and changes her mind. Lila then requested for the Department of Mental Health Homeless Outreach & Mobile Engagement ( HOME) Team to meet her at the motel the following day to offer medication support.
Shortly after, the client moved into the pallet shelter where she obtained her California ID, Social Security Card, medical insurance, Cal Fresh, and general relief. She continued to get monthly injectables from the HOME nurse practitioner. Within a month, the client was matched to PSH. On November 29, 2022, exactly five years to the day from the first time Lila first outreached to her, the client moved into her own apartment. Lila recently received a phone call from the client's estranged daughter, who shared how her mother struggled with mental health issues, but would never accept help. Lila learned that her client had been in the South Bay her entire life, and was a graduate of Mira Costa High School. The client' s daughter is planning on visiting her mom in February along with the client' s aging father.
With help from the Redondo Beach Police Department and Quality of Life Prosecutor Joy Abaquin Ford, Lila also outreached to a hearing -impaired senior citizen located near the pier' s Quality Seafood one morning at 4. 30 a. m. He had been homeless for 42 years with no family. He refused shelter because of his religion, prior negative experiences in other shelters, and he was, at the time, infested with lice. Despite his initial refusal, Lila placed him on the waiting list for the pallet shelter.
For a few weeks, Lila contacted almost every Jewish organization and Synagogue in the county with no success. When an opening became available at the pallet shelter, Lila searched for him on the pier and convinced him to accept the unit. To prepare her client for his housing appointment, Lila purchased portable hair clippers to shave off his hair, and provided new clothing and shoes. Lila' s boyfriend also assisted in shaving his hair. The next morning, Lila checked the client into the pallet shelter where he was able to obtain his California ID, Social Security card, medical insurance, Cal Fresh and general relief. After two months at the pallet shelter, he was matched to PSH for a hearing impaired unit and is now living happily in his own apartment with all the supportive services he needs.
In October of 2020, the City Attorney' s Office received resident complaints about a woman camping on the beach and requested all housing navigators to outreach to her. Councilmember Nils
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N. 3., File # 23- 5897 Meeting Date: 4/ 18/2023
Nehrenheim and the Los Angeles County Lifeguard also contacted Lila regarding a woman staying on the beach, acquiring more and more umbrellas. Every week, she repeatedly refused to speak to any housing navigator or officer and told them to leave her alone. Officer John Banach was able to convince her to leave the beach due to an upcoming thunder storm. Ronson Chu from the SBCCOG agreed to place her in a motel for a few days. On the day Lila was supposed to pick her up, the motel staff stated that she had checked out early in the morning. She resurfaced near City Hall later in the year, with her umbrellas set up on Carnelian Street. The client refused services from all available service providers and the Redondo Beach Police Department for months, becoming hostile against them until Sergeant Michael Strosnider talked to the client for an hour and was able to convince her to accept a motel stay. Ronson Chu agreed to use SBCCOG homeless funds to place her in a motel because he knew how monumental her acceptance was at that moment. While Sergeant Strosnider loaded her belongings onto the Harbor Interfaith van, Officer Turner, two other officers, Deputy Public Works Director Mike Klein, two Harbor Interfaith staff members, two City Net staff members, and Lila were waiting in the employee parking lot, out of sight to ensure the client does not become hostile again. Sergeant Strosnider transported her in his patrol vehicle, and the client insisted that Officer Turner ride in the Harbor Interfaith truck to make sure her belongings were safe. For the next fourteen days, Sergeant Strosnider visited her at the motel to convince her to accept the Pallet Shelter unit that was being held just for her until she finally agreed. Again, Sergeant Strosnider transported her with Officer Turner in the Harbor Interfaith van to the pallet shelter from the motel. Sergeant Strosnider had to conduct the intake assessment himself because she refuses to speak to the staff at the Pallet Shelter. The Pallet Shelter staff will continue attempts to engage with her until she accepts services and permanent housing.
During the height of the pandemic, Lila noticed a very young woman carrying a backpack and duffle bag near the Redondo Beach Main library, despite the library being closed. After a month of denying that she was homeless every day, she finally admitted to Lila that she was homeless. When Lila mentioned shelters, she started yelling at Lila that she would rather sleep on the streets because she had been assaulted and robbed in shelters. Lila was able to get the client to share that she had just turned 18 and aged out of the foster system; this made her eligible for Harbor Interfaith motel funds.
While at the motel, Lila learned that the client had been in the foster system since she was three years old and has been placed in over a hundred foster or group homes. The client was accepted to the National Guard and went away to basic training for a year. When she returned, the client reached out to Lila and informed Lila that she had nowhere to go while she was off duty. Lila got her into the Pallet Shelter, and picked up her client as soon as she landed in California. Although the client had challenges at the Pallet Shelter and with her search for permanent housing, Lila was able to identify a location with a very patient housing provider. Councilmember Laura Emdee started a Target wish list to provide her with everything she needed to fill her new apartment and make her feel like she finally has the home she never had. When the client received her keys, she broke down and cried on Lila' s shoulder saying, " Thank you Miss Lila, thank you," repeatedly. The case manager, housing provider and Lila cried with her. The client is now going on weekly drills with the Army and has increased her income dramatically. She also purchased a new car and is loving her new life.
Update on a Dedicated Mental Health Clinician
On May 10, 2022, in response to a Strategic Plan item, the City Attorney' s Office presented a discussion item to the City Council on possible options to improve the City' s Enhanced Response to Homelessness Program. Three recommendations were provided. The unanimous recommendation
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of the City Attorney' s Office ( Lila, Joy, and Mike) as by far the top priority was that the City employ a Mental Health Clinician who could assist those that need mental health treatment and medication in a similar way that having Lila as an employee of the City does, being more available and responsive to the City needs and resident complaints.
Thereafter, the City Attorney prepared a Budget Decision Package that would allow the City Attorney' s Office to hire a Mental Health Clinician to work alongside Lila. Instead, in adopting the 22- 23 Budget, the City Council only chose to fund $ 50, 000 towards the position and work collectively with Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach to develop the program. Additionally, the Council directed that the position be put in the Police Department rather than the City Attorney's Office which ended the City Attorney' s role in hiring the Mental Health Clinician. Moreover, the Police Department could not hire anyone with only roughly 1 / 3 of the cost allocated. Although the City Managers of Manhattan and Hermosa agree with the idea on a conceptual basis no real progress has been made in implementing this top goal. To date, a mental health clinician has not been hired.
In short, due to the Council' s policy decision on the Budget, this has been a lost year in making progress on what in our opinion remains the top unmet need for responding effectively to persons suffering a mental crisis. Lila Omura is prepared to discuss the difficulties that she has faced the past year without this resource.
Adding -the Pier. Veteran' s Park. and the area around Project Moonstone to_the._specific areas where camping in public is prohibited at all times.
Currently, the City of Redondo Beach does enforce the Redondo Beach Municipal Codes that prohibit camping between the hours of 10 a. m. to 5: 00 p. m. in any public area of the City, as well as within 500 yards of an emergency transitional housing facility at all hours of the day. This is a specific time and place prohibition that are permitted under the Ninth Circuit decision in Martin v. Boise. The City Council wanted to discuss adding the Pier, Veteran' s Park, and the area around the upcoming Project Moonstone to the list of specific prohibitions.
The Redondo Beach Pier already has a similar prohibition. Section 12- 1. 308 of the Redondo Beach Municipal Code states:
It shall be unlawful for any person, other than a person specifically authorized by permit, license, or lease from the City, or a lessee of the City, to camp, lodge, sleep, or tarry overnight upon any portion of the harbor, waterway, or maritime facility or to erect, maintain, use, or occupy any tent, lodge, shelter, structure, house trailer, trailer coach, or conveyance used as a place of abode.
Veteran' s Park does not. Both are located in the Coastal Zone. Adding a new enforcement provision will require the approval of the California Coastal Commission which even if granted will take quite some time.
Amendments to the City' s Local Coastal Program need to undergo review and approval by the California Coastal Commission pursuant to Public Resources Code ( PCR) Section 30514 and Title 14, Section 13551 of the California Code of Regulations. PRC 30514 states, "A certified local coastal program and all local implementing ordinances, regulations, and other actions may be amended by the appropriate local government, but no such amendment shall take effect until it has been certified by the commission." If the regulations require an amendment to the Local Coastal Program ( LCP) or
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the Implementing Ordinance ( coastal zoning Title 10, Chapter 5 of the Redondo Beach Municipal Code), a resolution would need to be adopted to submit the amendment to the Coastal Commission for their review and approval. It can take several months, and up to a year, for the Coastal Commission to consider the LCP amendment. Once approved by the Coastal Commission, it is certified and effective. However, they may require modifications that the City would have to find acceptable and would require City Council to make further amendments to incorporate those modifications, and then the modified ordinances would return to the Coastal Commission for certification.
The 500 yard area surrounding Project Moonstone is both inside as well as outside the Coastal Zone.
Even if limited to the area outside the Coastal Zone there would be challenges in successfully defending such an ordinance if attacked in court. It would depend largely on the factual findings by the City Council in support of such an expansion. As I have opined previously, the area surrounding a transitional housing facility can be added to such an ordinance because of the number of examples of people camping outside in hopes of getting the next available bed in the facility. Although our Pallet Shelters do not work on that basis, there was legitimate concern ( and some actual experience when they first opened) that people would do the same here under the mistaken belief that would work here.
Project Moonstone is not a Homeless Shelter or a transition housing facility. I am not aware of any instances or reasons why people would camp outside a permanent support housing facility.
Therefore, I would have to closely examine and research any proposed City Council factual findings in support of adding them to the ordinance.
COORDINATION
The City Attorney' s Office coordinated with the Community Development Department in connection with the last section of this report.
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Article XXIV Violations, Validity and ConstrLuiction
24 Violations. Ell
The violation of any provision of this Charter shall be a misdemeanor and shall be punishable upon conviction by a fine of not exceeding Five Hundred Dollars ($ Soo) or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding six ( b) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment. 1 ] 24— as amended by election 3-5-85.
24. 1 Validity.
If any provisions of this Charter, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the Charter, and the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances, shall not be affected thereby.
24.2 Construction.
Wherever the word " shall" is used in this Charter it means mandatory and wherever the word " may' is used it means permissive unless the use of the words in the particular paragraph requires a different construction.