A U.S. District Court judge in Downtown L.A. put off Monday a final resolution of a lawsuit that could force L.A. County and City to further expand the array of services and housing offered to people experiencing homelessness.
Judge David O. Carter referenced the lack of clarity in the results of last week's election for the next L.A. Mayor and for one of the seats on the County Board of Supervisors, as each leader would need to endorse the terms of the agreement for it to be effective.
“He said look, there are things about this agreement I really, really like, there are things about this agreement I think we could do better on," attorney Elizabeth Mitchell told NBC LA of Judge Carter's decision to delay.
Mitchell is one of the lawyers who represent the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights, a coalition of Downtown residents and businesses that brought suit in 2020 to try to force government to act more quickly to address inhumane conditions for those living on the streets.
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She said Judge Carter, who has presided over a number of legal cases aimed at improving living conditions for the homeless, said he was interested in talking to the new mayor and the new supervisor to see if the existing proposals can be improved before they're approved.
"What the judge was concerned about the agreement is honestly the lack of clinical beds, the lack of mental health treatment that's available in the county of Los Angeles, and that he's right, to question that," Mitchell said.
"That's a big concern. And it's not fully addressed in this agreement," she said.
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L.A. County proposed in September to increase its spending on homelessness services by more than $200-million over the next five years and increase the number of treatment beds for addiction or mental health issues.
Previously the City of L.A., through a related action, committed to building more than 14,000 housing units in the next 5 years.
