ACLU Suit Leads to Homeless Sleeping Area
Wednesday, Oct 7, 2009 | Updated 1:30 PM PDT
AP
** TO GO WITH STORY SLUGGED: GREECE HOMELESS BY MIRON VAROUHAKIS ** A homeless sleeps on a bench in central Athens on Monday, Jan. 24, 2005. There is no official record of the number of homeless, but based on the number of housed at various shelters City of Athens estimates there are 9,000 homeless in greater Athens. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
The Laguna Beach City Council voted Tuesday night to create the sleeping area for up to 50 homeless people in a parking lot.
Officials also voted to ban loitering near public restrooms and storing belongings near the boardwalk in an effort to prevent homeless people from camping on public parks and beaches.
Laguna Beach repealed a ban on sleeping on the street earlier this year after the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit alleging the rule was unconstitutional. The lawsuit was later settled.
The area along Laugna Canyon Road might open as early as November.
The council also passed an ordinance that prohibits loitering around public restrooms, storing items near the boardwalk and possession of alcohol.
The ACLU lawsuit claimed that homeless people had no choice but to sleep on public property.
"We are hoping that through the police action that we will be able to take some of that behavior out of the park and make it a safe place for the homeless, safe place for the residents, safe place for the visitors," Councilmember Toni Iseman told the OC Register.
