Homeless group created

Lack of an oversight committee to review the Homeless Task Force recommendations impact on the community was an oversight rectified Tuesday.

The council voted unanimously in favor of Mayor Kelly Boyd’s proposal to create an Advisory Committee on Homelessness and his list of candidates to serve on it, with his assurance that the task force’s 14 recommendations would be implemented, not just rehashed.

“I am concerned about the description of the committee,” said the Rev. Colin Henderson, a member of the original task force. “To review the impacts of homelessness and the report could be interpreted that the report will be set aside and we would be starting from scratch. What we need is an implementation committee.”

Named to serve on the committee: Henderson, Ed Sauls, Daga Krackowiser, Councilwoman Toni Iseman and Boyd, all members of the original task force; and former School Board member and Planning Commissioner Robert Whalen, Community Clinic physician Dr. Korey Jorgeson, Village Laguna founder Arnold Hano, Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Rose Hancock, Jason Paransky, Housing and Human Affairs Committee members Oakley Frost and Michael Gosselin of the Relief and Resource Center, and downtown business owner Sheila Bushard Jamieson.

Assistant City Manager John Pietig, Community Outreach Officer Jason Farris and city analyst Michael Phillips will act as staff liaison to the committee.

“Everyone I asked to serve agreed,” Boyd said. “I had others volunteer, but I didn’t want the committee to get too large and this is a good cross section of the city. The others will be heard at the meetings. “

Asked by Councilwoman Verna Rollinger for his assurance that the new committee would not hold up the implementation of the task force’s recommendations, Boyd replied: “That’s the point.”

Rollinger said she would take that as a yes.

“We will be an implementation committee, but we will review as necessary,” Hano said.

Boyd said most of the recommendations had already been implemented, a statement challenged as an exaggeration by Camel Point resident Jim Keegan.

“By my count there are only six,” Keegan said.

He said the arithmetic wasn’t important, but accused staff of making decisions that are contrary to the task force recommendations.

Keegan attended many of the task force meetings, bringing to them attorneys who subsequently became parties to a suit against the city.

The suit targets the city’s 1950s ordinance that prohibits sleepovers on public property but has not been enforced for almost a year and alleges aggressive police tactics against Laguna’s chronically homeless population.

The city’s newest committee will advise the council on any new or revised anti-camping ordinance, as well as propose actions after reviewing impacts of homelessness and the recommendations of the task force on the homes, residents, visitors and businesses.

Christine Keegan said the key to reducing homelessness is housing.

She urged the city to investigate the success of Housing First, which Henderson also recommended.

Initial committee recommendations will be submitted by July 1.

“I think good things will come out of this,” Boyd said.

BARBARA DIAMOND can be reached at (949) 494-4321 or coastlinepilot@latimes.com.