LA Officials Bring The Hammer Down On Tiny Houses For Homeless

[Recursion]

http://www.npr.org/2016/03/03/469054634/la-officials-bring-the-hammer-down-on-tiny-houses-for-homeless

Elvis Summers is not part of any nonprofit or government agency. He's just a 38-year-old guy with a Mohawk and tattooed arms who started a GoFundMe campaign last spring so he could build tiny houses for homeless people to live in. He got the idea after befriending a homeless woman in his neighborhood.

...

So far Summer has given out 37 tiny 6- by 8-foot houses, which cost $1,200 each to build. They resemble sheds, painted in bright, solid colors, with solar panels on the roof, wheels to make them mobile and a portable camping toilet.

But recently, city sanitation workers confiscated three of the houses from a sidewalk in South Los Angeles and tagged others for removal.

"Unfortunately, these structures are a safety hazard," says Connie Llanos, a spokeswoman for LA Mayor Eric Garcetti. "These structures, some of the materials that were found in some of them, just the thought of folks having some of these things in a space so small, so confined, without the proper insulation, it really does put their lives in danger."

Self-built or informally-built housing was a significant part of our housing stock until the 1950s or so and now essentially doesn't exist, and gets torn down when people try to do it.

[Fairgo]

1. Yes, they are so much safer

sleeping on the street. And I have a modest proposal, if the public is leastwise hungry...

"I grant this food will be somewhat dear, and therefore very proper for landlords, who, as they have already devoured most of the parents, seem to have the best title to the children". - J. Swift

[Warpy]

2. FFS!

"Unfortunately, these structures are a safety hazard," says Connie Llanos, a spokeswoman for LA Mayor Eric Garcetti. "These structures, some of the materials that were found in some of them, just the thought of folks having some of these things in a space so small, so confined, without the proper insulation, it really does put their lives in danger."

Right, idiot, sleeping out in the open is much safer.

[Recursion]

3. I mean, if they're blocking a fire lane or something I get that

But the things have wheels: move them somewhere safer.

[Travis_0004]

6. They do need to find a good place to go

I dont blame people for not wanting a tiny house parked in their neighborhood for weeks at a time.

[snowy owl]

4. I believe in regulations but

I really think the city could make this work by becoming a partner instead of an adversary. So bureaucratic and unimaginative. Too bad. The people we pay large salaries to run our cities are well overpaid. I'm sorry that happened.

[Peace Patriot]

5. Aw shit!

Nt

[PADemD]

7. Only one exit?

The only thing that bothers me about the tiny houses I've seen on TV is that there seems to be only one exit. As a child, I saw one of those silver trailers go up in flames; and the occupant made it out the only door just in time.