Letters to the Editor: Homeless camping at beaches and parks? It’s a nonstarter

To the editor: Parks are not campgrounds. Beach parking lots are not campgrounds. Parks are often the only spaces children have to play, where residents have an outdoor space in which to relax. (“Homeless camping at beaches and parks? L.A. proposal stirs outcry from some neighbors,” May 14)

Los Angeles has a dearth of parks compared to other large cities in the U.S. No one I know would go for recreation to a park or a beach parking lot with a homeless encampment in it. Even designated campgrounds have stay limits.

Surely there are large parking lots, such as those connected to closed shopping malls, that could be used for homeless encampments instead of depriving established communities of much-needed open spaces.

Ellen Eubanks, Monrovia

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To the editor: Here we go again. NIMBYism is alive and well in Los Angeles.

People don’t want the unhoused on the street. When it is suggested to relocate them to an unused motel, it’s too close to school. When an empty lot is suggested, it’s too close to homes.

Now, when parks and beach camping sites are suggested, not only is that rejected but the opponents also start a recall campaign against the City Council member who came up with the idea. Maybe we can waste more money on pointless recall elections.

The unhoused are not going away. Most of these suggestions are temporary until more permanent housing can be secured. It is heartbreaking to see those who have housing be so uncaring.

Peg Kovar, West Hills