Troubled Woodland Hills homeless encampment to be cleared out

WOODLAND HILLS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A Woodland Hills homeless encampment is set to be cleared out after years of safety and nuisance complaints.

The group of campers, tents and tarps in question stretches along Clarendon Street between Alhama Drive and Comercio Way, wedged between the 101 Freeway and large commercial buildings like Trader Joe's and a Courtyard by Marriott hotel.

Councilman Bob Blumenfield, who represents the West Valley, authored a motion to use L.A.'s 41.18 anti-camping law to ban the encampment.

The city council voted Wednesday 9-5 in favor of clearing out the area. Blumenfield said the main reason to end camping there is because of a growing crime problem at the encampment.

"We've had a rape, we've had attempted murder, we've had drug dealing. We've had all sorts of issues happen there," Blumenfield said.

But some of the people who live in the camp say warnings of crime are overblown.

"I don't see no crime around here," said Gina Dussing, who has been living at the camp for the past three months with nowhere else to go. "They're wrong."

She said she's been offered housing in North Hollywood but is waiting on paperwork.

"They say they have housing available, but where is it? Why are we having to wait so long to get into a place?"

Meantime, the encampment is taking its toll on the neighborhood.

Workers associated with the Courtyard hotel say the homeless have been jumping the fence, bathing in the swimming pool, and harassing their customers to the point where they have to keep the lobby doors locked 24/7 now.

Blumenfield says, thanks to the council's action, the homeless camp should be cleared out within a couple weeks.

"The signs go up. Once the signs are up, I think there's a two-week time period, there's a date on it when it becomes enforceable," he said. "It gets to a police action where they can write a citation."

However, encampment regulars say citations may not do the trick and add that homeless residents will most likely fight the city.

"They'd probably appeal it," said Dari Byacht, who is unhoused. "They're smart people. They know their rights. They know the law."