The Democrats who run the nation’s third-largest city continue to demonstrate how much they loathe their tax base.
The Los Angeles City Council is nearing a vote on a measure that would require hotels in the city to provide rooms to homeless people, with hotel owners having no say or choice in the matter.
The Daily Wire reports that Unite Here Local 11, a far-left union representing 32,000 hospitality workers in southern California and Arizona, has garnered more than 120,000 signatures for a proposed ordinance that would require all hotels, from luxury establishments to mom-and-pop-owned motels, to provide rooms to homeless people.
“It’ll help create an emergency solution for people that need housing immediately,” Maria Hernandez, communications director for the union, told FOX 11. “We have members that are on the edge of potentially becoming homeless people.”
She said that the current initiative would pick up where a pandemic-related one called Project Room Key initiative left off.
Under the measure, hotels would be required — daily — to report by 2 p.m. the number of empty rooms, most likely to some city office.
But of course, hotel owners and industry advocates are pushing back, hard.
Ray Patel, president of the Northeast Los Angeles Hotel Owners Association, called the idea “crazy.” He added that association members are already voicing concerns, most importantly about the safety of paying customers.
“When I rent a room, I want to make sure my staff is safe,” Patel told FOX 11. “I want to make sure my paying guests are safe.”
“And, most importantly, my neighbors are complimented and happy with my operation,” Patel noted further.
The Daily Wire notes further:
Patel said the initiative said hotel owners could face legal challenges if they refuse an individual seeking shelter at their business.
Mike Feuer, Los Angeles city attorney, told FOX 11 that the initiative consists of “a third-party sponsored ballot measure,” adding his office cannot comment on it before passage.
“I would ask the proponents what enforcement measures they are proposing,” Feuer said.
According to the group Point In Time Count, homelessness in Los Angeles County increased by 13 percent since 2020, with more than 66,000 people experiencing homelessness — 41,000 of whom are within L.A. city limits.
Homelessness has been ramping up in L.A. and Democrat-run cities throughout California and the country, as local officials essentially have removed all disincentives for people to be able to camp on streets, in taxpayer-supported public areas like parks, and in front of businesses.
That likely has contributed to an exodus from California, which features some of the most expensive ZIP codes in the country.
“Council members will discuss the initiative Friday, where they could either send the initiative to the voters or move forward and approve the measure themselves,” The Daily Wire reported regarding the initiative.
