CHATSWORTH, CA-February 16, 2024:Angel Griffin, 21,left, and India Barr, 38, are photographed next to Barrs RV parked at their homeless encampment on Eaton Ave. in Chatsworth. City Council District 12 in the San Fernando Valley is represented by John Lee. Lees record is under discussion, with some voters saying that they like his approach and others criticizing it. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

(Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times)

Homelessness in the northwestern Valley becomes a pressing issue in council race

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Dakota Smith

Feb. 21, 2024

Homelessness in the northwestern San Fernando Valley

jumped in recent years.

In Chatsworth, a sprawling encampment at the Metrolink station gained attention in May after a giant "Chatsworth Skid Row" sign rose at the site. Meanwhile, in that neighborhood and Granada Hills, business owners

with tents and RVs outside their stores and offices.

Police crackdowns

intensified. Police

a revised city law targeting sidewalk access in Council District 12 in the northwest Valley significantly more

other neighborhoods, according to a Times analysis of data from City Controller Kenneth Mejia that looked at a two-year period starting in late 2021.

Now, the March 5 election for a Los Angeles City Council seat could decide which direction the northwest Valley takes on homelessness.

Serena Oberstein, a Northridge resident and nonprofit leader, is challenging incumbent John Lee in a campaign that promises a new approach.

She criticizes Lee for his

reliance on Municipal Code 41.18 the citys anti-camping law which she calls a Band-Aid solution.

We're moving people from sidewalk to sidewalk and not solving the problem, said Oberstein, adding that she would bring

more

mental health

and substance abuse

, shelter beds and housing

.

First elected in a special election in 2019 and again in 2020, Lee is seeking another four-year term in District 12, which includes West Hills, Granada Hills, Chatsworth, Porter Ranch and Northridge.

Lee, a Porter Ranch resident, says there were no city-backed beds for homeless residents in his district when he was elected. Today, there are 200

, with an additional 170 or so coming this year, according to his office.

"Housing solutions are often controversial," Lee said, "but I have shown that I will make tough decisions and work to find common ground."

City data show that Lee has designated dozens of areas

as 41.18 zones

around shelters, parks, freeways and elsewhere allowing police to regulate where people can sit, sleep and store property.

In some previous council races in other districts, candidates have vowed to repeal 41.18 zones if elected.

Oberstein, when asked about her plans, said she would assess the 41.18 zone information when in office. She said the answer isn't "more or less 41.18 zones its more affordable housing."

More than 1,000 people were recorded as homeless in District 12 in 2022, a 43% rise from 2020, the first count after Lee took office. (The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority didn't released public district-by-district

numbers for 2023.)

India Barr, 38, swept the street near her Sportsman van on a recent morning in a commercial area of Chatsworth. She said the police are a regular presence in the area but leave her alone. An artist and musician, Barr said she can make $12 a day recycling bottles and other objects.

She doesn't want to go to a shelter and would like to move into a rental unit.

"Everyone has a period in life where they're not as up as they used to be,"

said. "We just need a leg up."

Historically, District 12 didn't invest in services because of a lack of political will and community resistance, housing experts told The Times.

Proposition HHH, the $1.2-billion bond measure to build housing for homeless people and low-income families, was passed citywide in 2016. Voting data show that District 12 voters rejected the measure,

Tommy Newman, vice president of public affairs at United Way of Greater L.A., which led the HHH campaign.

Still, Newman said, there

been a "significant increase" in homeless services under Lee.

Rowan Vansleve, president of Hope the Mission, a homeless services provider, said he was initially skeptical of Lee because past District 12 council members

show much interest in

But during

construction of the

Center, a Northridge shelter housed in a former roller skating rink, Lee visited multiple times.

he brought opponents, some of whom were visibly angry

the site, Vansleve said.

He stood between us and the residents and said, I promise you that its going to be done right,

said Vansleve, whose organization runs the shelter.

Vansleve

described Lee's office as "extremely responsive," saying the councilman texts him during council meetings to ask

what Hope the Mission needs.

I feel like he listens to people, even though [his] answer isnt always what people want to hear, said Paula Cracium, director of community engagement at Shepherd Church in Porter Ranch, who worked with Lee during the COVID-19 pandemic to bring sandwiches to homeless people.

Lee, responding to questions from The Times, said he has

various motel programs, including one run by Mayor Karen Bass, to bring people

. He also worked with Bass' office to clear the Chatsworth Metrolink site.

(Bass

hasn't endorsed either candidate in the

race.)

Asked how he approaches homelessness services in a district where voters may resist such projects, Lee said

want "their money actually going toward

efforts that reduce encampments on our streets in a tangible way. I share the same view."

Opposition to Lee galvanized in 2021, when he sought to block an HHH-funded affordable housing project in Chatsworth over its size and location near an elementary school. He later backed the site, and the episode frustrated

community members.

Some say

they've unsuccessfully lobbied Lee to add a "tiny home" village and other services to the district.

Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo (D-Chatsworth), a former board member of West Valley Homes Yes, a

group that advocates for homelessness services, accused Lee of failing to "proactively" go out and "look for properties and find solutions."

S

hiavo has endorsed Oberstein. Mike Benedetto, a member of the Granada Hills South Chamber of Commerce who said he wants more shelter beds in the district

.

Benedetto led The Times to an encampment along Devonshire

in Granada Hills, near a commercial stretch. Residents

said city cleaning crews come weekly. Some described drug use at the site and visits by gang members.

We need permanent solutions, Benedetto said, looking at the rows of tents. Its a waste of taxpayer money just to move people around.

Lee, in response to questions from The Times, said he didnt think one of the tiny home sites pitched by proponents was feasible but

remains open to the concept. His office is in "constant contact" with West Valley Homes Yes, he

said,

that "the reality is that sometimes partnerships take time to develop."

Stephanie Klasky-Gamer,

chief executive of

service provider L.A. Family Housing, said there's more

work

in the district

previous years.

Lee came into office pretty hot against what is happening, Klasky-Gamer said. He has tempered that.

Oberstein's campaign is hoping voters will be swayed by the number of people on the street.

"Under the incumbent, we've seen the homelessness crisis grow,"

said.