L.A. moves closer to easing limits on seizing homeless people’s belongings

‘The city of Los Angeles moved closer Monday to making it easier to remove homeless people’s belongings from public parks, over opposition from City Councilman Gil Cedillo, who said it was a failed strategy.

“We have pursued a strategy that does not work,” Cedillo told the arts, parks, health, aging and river committee, which voted 4 to 1 to approve the new ordinance. “The overemphasis on policing is a fetter.”

In 2012, a federal appeals court ruled the city could seize and destroy transients’ possessions only if they posed an immediate threat to public health or were evidence of a crime. The court also required the city to give owners a chance to reclaim their belongings before they are destroyed.’

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