Norwalk council votes to extend moratorium on building new homeless shelters

NORWALK, Calif. (CNS) -- The Norwalk City Council voted Tuesday to extend an ordinance that prohibits the building of new homeless shelters and transitional housing. Meanwhile, Gov. Gavin Newsom criticized the ordinance and threatened to sue the city.

After the council originally approved an ordinance to put a moratorium on the number of emergency shelters, single-room occupancy units, supportive housing and transitional housing in August, Newsom told the city it was in violation of state law and urged the city to reverse direction.

Instead of easing policies directed at housing, the Norwalk City Council decided to extend the deadline of the moratorium Tuesday on building new shelters and housing.

It comes after the California Department of Housing and Community Development sent a notice of violation to Norwalk Mayor Margarita Rios and other city leaders.

"It is unfathomable that as our state grapples with a homelessness crisis, Norwalk would pass an ordinance banning the building of homeless shelters," Newsom said in a statement. "We can't leave people in dangerous and unsanitary encampments -- the city of Norwalk needs to do its part to provide people with shelter and services."

Norwalk passed the ordinance citing the Housing Crisis Act. It allows city's and local governments to issue bans on housing facilities when there is "an imminent threat" to public health and safety.

In its letter to Norwalk, the state said, "There are no findings of a threat specific to the housing subject to the moratorium, nor any finding of a citywide threat."

Rios and the City Council responded to Newsom by saying in a statement Norwalk has made strides in providing shelter for its homeless population.

"Gov. Newsom's threats of a lawsuit overlook Norwalk's long-standing and effective efforts to address homelessness," they said in the statement. "The city has made significant strides, including opening affordable housing for homeless veterans, supporting L.A. County's Homekey project, funding its own homelessness engagement teams, and being one of the few cities in L.A. County with a dedicated Social Services Department to assist people experiencing homelessness. Norwalk also hosted one of the largest Project Roomkey sites during the pandemic. Despite these efforts, Norwalk has received no Measure H funding, forcing the city to use its own resources to manage the fallout from abandoned state-mandated programs, which puts both residents' safety and the city*s finances at risk. We urge Gov. Newsom to recognize Norwalk's proactive measures and provide direct resources to support its ongoing efforts."

In its notice of violation, the state reminded Norwalk what other cities in California were forced to do about addressing their housing shortages. Anaheim and Huntington Beach were ordered to produce new housing plans after they lost lawsuits brought on by the state.