It comes as no surprise to some living on the sand, but a popular beach in Los Angeles is the next California community to be cleared of its homeless encampments.
On Wednesday, signs posted, and even handed to people experiencing homelessness, at Dockweiler State Beach in Playa del Rey stated that a massive “cleanup” was set to ensue at 7 a.m. Thursday.
In preparation for a teardown, many unhoused people on the beach began to move their personal belongings early Thursday morning.
At the scene, KTLA’s Annie Rose Ramos noted that the “encampments” at Dockweiler were unlike similar spots that have been torn down by officials in recent weeks, like in Long Beach. That’s because rather than tents and people populating centralized, concentrated areas, the encampments were spread out across the beach with considerable distances between them.
One man living on the beach for the last month, identified as Jim, told Ramos that the cleanup didn’t come as a surprise and that officials have been cleaning up the areas of the beach around his setup for weeks. He said he didn’t know what his next steps were.
Playa del Rey residents said that the amount of tents has increased in recent months.
“It’s lawlessness,” said Lucy, a resident who accused nearby cities like Santa Monica of relocating their unhoused population to Playa del Rey. “We’re scared … [People experiencing homelessness] have been pretty aggressive so we’re really trying to see if [officials] can prohibit them from being in our public spaces and away from our kids.”
Lucy said that the unhoused population has thrown rocks at passersby, left syringes around and have yelled at people to “stay away” from their tents and encampments.
The push to clean California’s public spaces comes from an executive order issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom in July, in which he encouraged local governments to follow established guidelines allowing for the clearing of encampments. Newsom urged those governments to also supply the unhoused population with alternative options for shelter.
Unhappy with the initial response from local governments to his order, Newsom earlier this month said he would withhold state funds from cities and counties that failed to take action.
“This is not about criminalization,” Newsom said on Thursday. “What’s criminal is neglecting people who are struggling, suffering and dying on our watch. We need local government to step up. This is a crisis. The state’s unprecedented billions of dollars of support? I’m not interested in providing that support and not seeing the results. I’m a taxpayer, not just the governor. It’s not complicated. We’ll send that money to counties that are producing results.”
As of 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, it was unclear if any citations had been issued to any people experiencing homelessness at Dockweiler.