Organize a task force at wetlands

The Bolsa Chica wetlands are a source of pride for Huntington Beach. Many environmentalists worked hard to preserve the habitat, which is home to numerous birds, marine animals, trees and other vegetation.

Sadly, though, the wetlands are also home to those without shelter. And not only do these clusters of homeless camps threaten the environment, more importantly some transients pose a menace to their neighbors. One Huntington Beach woman told us recently how an apparently mentally deranged man emerged out of the wetlands last month hurling obscenities and threats as he hammered on her trailer home with his fists.

Huntington Beach police deserve praise for making an arrest in this case. But they need much more than that. They need help.

Enforcement in the wetlands is tricky because the area involves many jurisdictions. Some of Bolsa Chica is in the city while some parts of the property fall under the guise of the county or state. Still other parts are controlled by private owners like Shea Properties.

We don’t need our law enforcement officers spending half their time figuring out who’s supposed to respond to a crime there. Rather, we call on our political leaders to organize some sort of multi-jurisdictional task force to address the homeless problem at Bolsa Chica.

State Sen. Tom Harman, Assemblyman Jim Silva, County Supervisor John Moorlach, and our City Council members should get together and study the issue with enforcement at the top of their agenda. Then they might turn their attention to offering solutions to the homeless problem.

We’re sure the staff at organizations in Huntington Beach that help the homeless like Colette’s Children’s Home or Shelter for the Homeless can offer some good insights. After all, that’s their business. They help transients get back on their feet.

It’s alarming when environmentalists like Mark Bixby characterize the homeless problem as a chronic one.

“We know as soon as these camps are set up,” Bixby said. “We report it to people as soon as we’re aware of it.”

Our political and civic leaders should not get bogged down in bureaucratic buck-passing. They need to overcome obstacles like jurisdictional boundaries and solve problems like this. It’s their job and they need to get to work. It’s really as simple as that.