LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles City Council voted to ban homeless encampments within 500 feet of schools and daycare centers at a meeting that was disrupted by protesters who said it criminalizes homelessness.
The council Tuesday voted 11-3 to vastly broaden a ban on sitting, sleeping or camping that currently applies only to daycare centers and schools specified by the council.
The meeting was recessed for about an hour before the vote after dozens of people became unruly, at one point chanting, “Shut it down!”
A second and final vote is still needed next week.
About 750 public school sites are within the city limits, Los Angeles Unified School District officials told the Los Angeles Times, which said nearly 1,000 commercial daycare businesses are registered with the city.
Los Angeles is among many cities struggling to deal with a surge in homelessness and large encampments scattered along sidewalks that have sparked public outcry.
Supporters of the blanket ban said homeless camps are a health and safety threat to schoolchildren, especially because of the disruptive presence of people with drug addictions or mental illness.
The camps “are unsafe and traumatic for students, families and staff as they enter school campuses,” Martha Alvarez, who is in charge of government relations for the school district, told the council.
Opponents, including homeless advocates, said the measure would further criminalize homelessness.
The ban comes as several hotels are set to end their involvement in the government’s Project Roomkey, which paid them to provide hundreds of rooms to unsheltered people.