Norwalk agrees to repeal homeless shelter ban, AG says

The town of Norwalk will repeal a neighborhood regulation handed final yr that banned homeless shelters as a part of a settlement that may finish a state lawsuit, Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta stated Friday.

Final fall, the state sued the southeastern Los Angeles County neighborhood alleging that Norwalk’s coverage violated anti-discrimination, honest housing and quite a few different state legal guidelines. Norwalk leaders had argued its shelter ban, which additionally blocked homeless housing developments, laundromats, payday lenders and different companies that predominantly served the poor, was a essential response to damaged guarantees from different companies to help with the town’s homeless inhabitants.

“The Norwalk Metropolis Council’s failure to reverse this ban and not using a lawsuit, regardless of understanding it’s illegal, is inexcusable,” Gov. Gavin Newsom stated in a press release. “No neighborhood ought to flip its again on its residents in want — particularly whereas there are folks in your neighborhood sleeping on the streets.”

The settlement, which wants judicial approval earlier than taking impact, requires Norwalk to repeal its ban at an upcoming Metropolis Council assembly, Bonta stated in a launch. As well as, the town will dedicate $250,000 towards the event of recent inexpensive housing, formally acknowledge that the ban harmed honest housing efforts and settle for elevated state monitoring of its housing insurance policies.

Bonta stated that the authorized motion reveals the state won’t again down when native leaders try to dam homeless housing.

“We’re greater than keen to work with any metropolis or county that desires to do its half to unravel our housing disaster,” Bonta stated. “By that very same token, if any metropolis or county needs to check our resolve, at present’s settlement is your reply.”

Norwalk officers couldn’t instantly be reached for remark.

Norwalk stood out in comparison with different communities which have discovered themselves within the state’s crosshairs in recent times. Many cities which have fought state housing insurance policies, comparable to Beverly Hills and Coronado, are predominantly rich and white. Against this, Norwalk is a Latino-majority, working- and middle-class metropolis. Elected leaders within the metropolis of 100,000 have stated they’ve borne a disproportionate burden of addressing homelessness within the area.

Although the ban led to the cancellation of a deliberate shelter in Norwalk, metropolis leaders contended that the coverage largely was a negotiating tactic to make sure that the state and different companies heard their considerations. Final yr, the town stated that although the shelter ban remained on its books, it will not be enforced.

“This isn’t an act of defiance however fairly an effort to pause, pay attention, and discover widespread floor with the state,” metropolis spokesperson Levy Solar stated in a press release following a February court docket ruling that allowed the lawsuit to proceed.