Homeless Apartments Coming to Torrance (Have You Had Enough Yet, People?)

The LA County Board  of Supervisors announced that they were opening up a homeless apartment right here in the city of Torrance.

And all of this after the city council called a special meeting on May 23, 2025, to discuss the proposal and then vote against it unanimously.

Torrance residents took free Torrance Transit rides up to the LA County Board of Supervisors meeting hall to speak out against the proposal. Mayor George Chen and Councilman Aurelio Mattucci

Here's the report on the arrogant Board of Supervisors' final decision:

LA County Approves Torrance Homeless Housing Plan Despite 90% Opposition

Brian Choi

By

Brian Choi

Jun 3, 2025 11:27 AM PDT

Last Updated: Jun 3, 2025 11:27 AM PDT

Los Angeles County is moving forward with plans to convert a Torrance motel into permanent housing for the homeless, despite strong objections from local officials and residents.

The conflict began when the LA County Board of Supervisors proposed turning the Extended Stay America motel—located one block west of Torrance City Hall—into a housing facility for the unhoused. The project would transform the site into a 120-unit permanent supportive housing complex.

In response, the Torrance City Council unanimously passed a resolution opposing the plan. However, the Board of Supervisors confirmed last week that it would proceed, prompting a wave of local backlash.

The motel, situated at the intersection of Torrance Boulevard and Madrona Avenue, lies in a busy area surrounded by the Del Amo Fashion Center, city offices, public swimming pools, educational centers, and medical facilities. The location’s high pedestrian traffic has raised concerns about public safety and community impact.

Concerns Over Safety and Neighborhood Suitability

Local business owner Casey Yang, who runs a shop near the site, voiced concern about the decision. “I need to look into the details, but this should absolutely not happen. If a majority of citizens feel unsafe or concerned about public health, the County must reconsider,” he said.

Every citizen should be opposed to this. The city has already established tiny homes right next to the police station. What more does the city need to do?!

Seo-Yeon Kim, whose child attends a tutoring center next to the motel, echoed those concerns. “This area is frequented by children and is close to a senior apartment complex. I don’t know if this is a wise decision. I hope they reconsider after listening to public opinion,” she said.

Torrance Mayor George Chen criticized the County’s decision, stating that the proposed site sits in the heart of the city and lacks sufficient distance from sensitive community zones. “Over 90% of our residents oppose this,” Chen said on June 2, adding that the city is currently exploring legal action.

LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn, however, pushed back on the mayor’s statement. “We’ve received a much wider range of feedback than that,” Hahn said. She added that the site is actually located near churches and commercial zones, making it a suitable place to connect unhoused residents with job opportunities and rehabilitation programs.

No one really believes this.

State Funding and Security Measures Planned

The housing conversion is being funded through Project Homekey, a state initiative aimed at expanding permanent homeless housing. According to the County, the site will include on-site staff and operate under a 24-hour security system once complete.

Lots of businesses and other entities have 24-hour security, but that has not stopped the crime wave. What's the point in documenting all the crimes taking place when there is no enforcement of the law? District Attorney Nathan Hochman is bringing much needed change, but he cannot fight the crime wave on his own. Police and sheriff's departments are facing staffing problems and budget issues, and woke judges are filling up LA County courts!

The debate underscores the ongoing challenges of balancing urgent housing needs with community concerns in densely populated urban areas like Torrance.

The key decision-makers and team leaders are missing the bigger issue. Los Angeles County has a larger homeless population for a number of reasons:

1. The weather is great here, so deadbeats, derelicts, and drug addicts travel from all over the United States to come here and loaf out in public without fear of inclement weather.

2. California has some of the most generous welfare programs and payments in the country. This problem has plagued the state of California since Governor Pat Brown.

3. California voters have all but legalized drugs in this state, and some legislators wanted to go further and allow "safe" injection sites.

4. Law enforcement faces numerous obstacles to involuntary commitment of the mentally ill and unstable in our communities. Every since the early 1960s, when President John F. Kennedy began shutting down the mental institutions and allowing those sufferers to roam on the streets rather than receive much-needed care in involuntary confinement, the homeless problem has only worsened.

The lax laws, the progressive insistence on throwing more money at the problem rather than enforcing quality of life and care metrics, have caused the homelessness problem to spiral out of control.

The notion that providing more housing will somehow fix this program is just naive, delusional, and even dangerous.

This decision has received so much pushback, and has raised considerable alarm not just in the South Bay, but throughout Los Angeles County. I was surprised by the number of calls I received from friends throughout the county when the Board of Supervisors forced this decision on the city.

Mayor Chen has captured the heart of the matter: 90% of the residents do now want apartments for the homeless. It's not just a density issue, but a safety issue. Worse yet, all of this government-funded "charity" is just further subsidy for bad behavior and more homelessness.

Supervisor Janice Hahn claimed that homeless veterans would be the first to qualify for the housing. Someone needs to remind her that Los Angeles County already has the Brentwood VA, which was designed and designated precisely to serve LA County's veterans. And that problem has not been solved after decades. In fact, Rob Rosebrock has been exposing the misuse of the Brentwood facilities for years, exposing how private interests are exploiting the property at the expense of the veterans! Worse yet, Los Angeles County still has the largest homeless veteran population in the country, and the problem has barely abated, in spite of much pontificating from federal officials in Congress.

Big Question

Dear Torrance residents:

Have you had enough of this progressive propaganda and pandering? Have you tired of county and statewide officials who put illegal aliens, homeless vagrants, and repeat criminals ahead of the law-abiding citizens and their families?

If you don't like what's happening in your community, then you need to start with the person you see in the mirror. Whom are you voting for in every election? The region has been drifting to the left for the last twenty years, and the consequences are catching up with all of you. Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi and State Senator Ben Allen are all in on the homelessness push. They want more money, more housing, lax enforcement of our criminal laws, and a full commitment to the Democratic Party's broad vision of "marginalized ahead of the law-abiding."

You are all voting for these outcomes. Supervisor Janice Hahn won an outright majority to hold her seat for a third (And thankfully final) term on the LA County Board of Supervisors. You had the chance to elect someone else to represent you in Downtown Los Angeles, but you chose more of the same.

So, there's no point in complaining right now until you resolve to start electing NEW PEOPLE!

More Antifa Anti-Semitism: Vishal Singh Calls Jewish Trump Supporter "Worm"

Antifa loves to call conservatives, constitutionalists, concerned citizens, pro-life activists, and pro-family activists "Nazis."

And yet, look how they treat Jews. This time, Vishal Singh, the homeless, hateful, drugged-up, mentally ill Antifa (but I repeat myself) propagandist targeted Stephen Miller, an American of Jewish background who worked for the Trump Administration:

This sweaty white nationalist worm gets more desperate by the second. https://t.co/aqJFXwLwhq

— Vishal P. Singh (they/he) 🏳️‍⚧️ (@VPS_Reports) September 9, 2022

He called an American Jew a "worm."

This kind of bigotry reminds me of the hatred that the Antifa-BLM-Cultural Marxist movement has been directing towards Paul Koretz in his bid for LA City Controller, as well.

Singh calls a Jew a "Worm." What' next? Calling him a rat? Calling him "undesirable"? 

Are we going to see people like Stephen Miller and Paul Koretz pushed into concentration camps, too? 

Vishal Singh seems to think that way ...

FINALLY: Torrance To Enforce Anti-Camping Ordinance Soon

From The Daily Breeze:

Torrance to enforce anti-camping ordinance once temporary housingshelter opens

By KRISTY HUTCHINGS | khutchings@scng.com |

Torrance’s 40-unit temporary housing shelter officially has an expected opening date — June 26 — and with it will come more stringent enforcement of the city’s anti-camping rules, officials said this week.

 It's about time! Of course, if the Supreme Court had done its job and heard the challenge to the awful case Martin v. Boise, we would not have had to daily in this fashion in the first place.

Frankly, it's not a city's job to provide housing at length to every homeless person who wanders into a city. This court-ordered enabling is creating an unsustainable problem in western states.

As site constriction for the Pallet shelter community nears completion, city officials and the Police Department are working to finalize on-site security measures and future police response to homelessness throughout Torrance at large.

A number of residents are understandably upset that the pallet shelters are in District three, right next to the police station, but also near residential areas in the city.

According to some of the city councilmembers, that was the best option in the shortest time possible. There is discussion about moving the pallet homes near the soon-to-be-opened transit center on Crenshaw and Mariposa. In my opinion, having the pallet homes right next to the police department is the best location, since it's easier for the city police to keep an eye on the lot, to maintain security, and ensure that the city will be safe.

Police Chief Jeremiah Hart announced at this week’s City Council meeting that the Police Department will enforce Torrance’s anti-camping ordinance once the Pallet tiny homes are open. The anti-camping ordinance outlaws sleeping on public streets and sidewalks.

 Finally! We need enforcement on this issue in the city of Torrance. There are too many bums, too many homeless who are still camping out in bus stations or in front of public buildings around the city. One homeless guy is constantly hanging out in front of the Torrance Main Library, and he scares the students who go to the library after school.

“Our experience is that we have people who are saying they’re open to services, and we have people who are resistant to services,” Hart said. “When the Pallet shelter is open, the anti-camping ordinance will be enforced by the Police Department (on) those people who are service resistant.”

If there are people who want to be homeless, who refuse to take responsibility for their lives, they are going to have to go somewhere else. This sounds harsh to some people, but the state of California and its rogue courts have started creating a system that enables dependence, homelessness, and the like. This really has to stop.

But People Assisting the Homeless, or PATH, an organization that has helped place 9,000 people into permanent housing since its establishment in 1983, said anti-camping laws don’t target the root issues that lead to homelessness.

“PATH has seen that enforcement rarely ends a person’s episode of homelessness,” PATH spokesperson Tyler Renner said in an email Wednesday, April 13. “Our approach to outreach is person-centered, trauma-informed and relies on building trust.

 No one should condemn people who have fallen on hard times. In some cases, people are on the street because they are running away from domestic violence or abusive parents. But in many cases, those individuals eventually get back on their feet, and oftentimes very quickly. Those individuals who are chronically homeless are either on drugs or mentally ill, and they struggle at greater length to get help, get off the street, and get back on their feet. The last thing that any government should be doing is making it easier for these sick individuals to stay on the street, ruin the quality of life for the community,

“Ultimately, any successful outreach or enforcement efforts,” Renner added, “must be connected to robust resources and lead to long-term housing.”

A 2018 landmark federal court decision in Martin v. Boise ruled that cities could not legally enforce anti-camping ordinances without first providing shelter for their unhoused populations — citing the Constitution’s Eighth Amendment guarantee of protection from cruel and unusual punishment.

It's wrong for a newspaper to engage in "newspeak" and call the homeless "unhoused." Renaming a problem to something more politically correct does not solve the problem. People are "unhouse" when they leave their homes, or when they go on vacation, since they are not in their house. The truth is that people living in the street are homeless. Let's not diminish that reality.

Torrance’s tiny home program fulfills that legal duty to provide some sort of shelter to the unhoused, according to Hart, meaning the city will fall within its rights to enforce the ordinance.

 YES.

Police officers will be directed to offer a spot in the temporary housing program to any homeless individuals they encountered during service calls, Hart said.

 

If a person who is homeless repeatedly refuses to accept services or a place in the program, Hart said, they will be issued a citation or arrested, depending on the situation.

These individuals who refuse to receive help need to leave the city. It's as simple as that. They will not be allowed to camp on people's property or on public property.

“It’s important as the chief of police to let everyone know that the direction I’ve been giving staff is that we will follow constitutional policing,” Hart said, “which guarantees the rights of all people — the city of Torrance residents who live in homes and also the people on our streets.”

One question that remains, however, is what the city will do if the new shelter, in a parking lot behind the courthouse at the Torrance Civic Center, is at capacity.

The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s 2020 homeless count survey reported 332 unhoused individuals in Torrance alone — a 106 person increase from the previous year. While LAHSA’s latest homeless count data won’t be released until July, some members of the City Council said they believe the numbers have likely increased in the past two years.

“That’s one of the big concerns that I have about this program,” Councilman Mike Griffiths said. “The fact that our shelter is relatively small in comparison to the unhoused that we know to be in our community —  I’m very concerned that we’re just going to be back to square one.”

The city of Torrance needs to join with other cities and refile a lawsuit to overturn Martin v. Boise.

Anti-camping enforcement will be determined essentially on a case-by-case basis, Hart said during the Tuesday, April 12, council meeting, depending on bed availability at the shelter. Legally, the Police Department cannot cite or arrest the unhoused for camping if there are no tiny homes available.

“The cycle for the Police Department will be to continue to identify people in the city who are homeless and offering them services,” he said, “but there will be no enforcement of the anti-camping ordinance if there isn’t an available bed.”

 This is a real problem. What happens, then, if more people start showing up to the city of Torrance to take advantage of these limitations?

The tiny home program is designed to be temporary, and will be stocked with supportive services to help transition peopls who are homeless into permanent housing, according to Deputy City Manager Viet Hoang.

 This point offers more hope. Not much, though.

“Our hope is that someone can transition from homelessness to permanent housing in the three to six month time frame,” Hoang said, noting that there are various factors that impact that time frame.

 It should not be a city's job to provide everything for the homeless. This is government charity on steroids, and this causes nothing but problems.

“Homelessness is as unique as the individual,” Hoang added. “Some people will need more help than others.

The second challenge, Hoang said, is the actual availability of housing in the area.

Torrance’s programs will focus on transitioning its clients to three types of permanent housing, Hoang said: Reunification with family, permanent supportive housing (with long-term supportive services), and housing subsidies (which could include a housing voucher to help cover monthly rent).

On-site coordinators, who will know the individual’s situation and the resources available to them, will create and manage the housing plans.

Harbor Interfaith Services, a San Pedro nonprofit, was officially awarded a contract to operate the site on Tuesday. The organization will hire a program manager, two intake coordinators/case managers and five resident aides to operate the program on a 24/7 basis.

Those employees will also help program residents access services necessary to prepare them for permanent housing, including for mental health treatment.

Some of those services are:

LA County Department of Health Services will provide ongoing COVID-19 testing and vaccines; the Venice Family Clinic will provide baseline health care services.

LA County Department of Public Social Services will assist with enrollment in financial aid and food stamp benefits.

Volunteers from faith-based organizations will help secure hygiene items and organize social events for residents.

SouthBay Workforce Investment Board will provide life skills, work preparedness  and job search training.

Harbor Interfaith will also hire two 24/7 on-site security guards via the private security company Black Knight Patrol, officials said at Tuesday’s meeting. They’ll be responsible for enforcing all site and program rules, including a nightly curfew.

Besides enforcing the anti-camping ordinance where possible, Hart said, the Police Department will increase its on-foot patrols near Civic Center and potentially use drone technology to monitor the site from above to discourage loitering nearby.

Final Reflection

The homelessness problem has gotten worse in the city of Torrance only because of meddling politicians and bad courts who want to make this problem worse. There is a big industry getting big government money to keep the homelessness problem growing. 

While the pallet homes is a temporary fix, what is needed long-term is a robust effort to push back on the Martin v. Boise judicial tyranny forcing cities to give funds to people who will not get their lives together.

Let's hope that enforcement builds up quickly as serves as an effective deterrent to end the homeless plague in the city of Torrance. It has gotten so bad, so out of hand, that one former resident, who recently moved to San Pedro, informed me that port section of Los Angeles has pretty much eliminated the homelessness problem, and that area looks better than Torrance does right now!

That's embarrassing. Torrance is better than this. We didn't want to turn into Los Angeles two years ago, but now if Los Angeles is looking better, then let's follow their deliberate model and put an end to the rampant loitering and camping on public causeways.

Regarding the Homelessness Plans for the City of Torrance (June 22, 2021 Meeting)

To the Torrance City Council:

First of all, I share that it is very frustrating that the city dragged its feet for nearly two years to solve the homelessness problem in the city of Torrance, which has only grown increasingly worse. Manhattan Beach, CA addressed this problem very effectively three years ago. This kind of delay for necessary policy direct cannot become the norm in the city of Torrance.

Based on the documents in Item 9C, overall homelessness in the City of Torrance increased from 79 to 322 people. This is unconscionable. 

Regarding the three specific Administrative Agenda items:

9A: "Staff has recommended pursuing one of the two concepts that can be located entirely on City property, with the 34-space parking lot immediately adjacent to the Police Department as the preferred activation."

If this is the best location that the city can find, entirely within city property, thus removing the need to spend more funds to purchase property, then so be it. If a better lot, in an abandoned industrial location in the city, can be obtained, then that would be a better choice.

9B: I am glad to see that the anti-camping ordinance will preclude individuals from setting up tents in the park, as well as in other public locations throughout the city, including the beaches. In Wilson Park, over the last few months I have noticed a homeless person would routinely take up tables on the East side of the park, and this person would just leave a shopping cart full of bags. It was unsightly and disruptive. Thankfully, it appears that that person and the person's belongings have been removed.

Will this ordinance ensure that homeless individuals do not loiter in the public parks, as well, taking up multiple benches and tables with collected bags and other junk? This is still a possible problem that should be addressed and prevented.

9C: I am vocally opposed to any programs in connection with the South Bay City Council of Governments (SBCCOG). The last thing that any city needs is to form a further incestuous relationship with larger government agencies and bureaucracies. Frankly, the city of Torrance should exist the SBCCOG and retain our city funds for our own purposes. This is a terrible part of the plan which needs to be rejected outright.

This passage alone shows that our tax dollars not helping our local purposes:

In 2020 - 21, Measure H funds were made available to Council of Governments (COGs), including the SBCCOG, which covers a number of cities in the region, including Torrance, as part of "Innovation Grants." The SBCCOG received $739,685. The City of Redondo Beach received $245,287, and the Torrance received $50,000 to support retention of an Outreach Worker. The remaining $444,398 was used by the SBCCOG for regional projects, including education and outreach, development of a home sharing program, and providing client aid funds.

The vast majority of the monies are going to "regional projects." This is outrageous!

I strongly suggest that the city of Torrance maintain the strongest relationship connections with the city of Manhattan Beach and continue to follow their example, to the extent that they have successfully dealt with this homelessness issue while retaining the quality of life and character of their community.

I notice that the PLAN TO PREVENT AND COMBAT HOMELESSNESS stresses an extensive amount of education. I do not see the relevance or use of training every city employee how to deal with homelessness. Perhaps the police and fire departments, but that's it.

Furthermore, a simple plan which identifies that for many people on the streets, they are there because of drug use/abuse or mental health issues. Will there be any enforcement mechanisms to require chronically homeless individuals to receive help, get sober, etc. so that they can get back to living fulfilling and productive lives? I did not see any provided or even considered in the plan.

Last of all, my concerns--and the concerns of a growing number of residents in the city--have only grown in regards to government agencies and bureaucracies viewing the homelessness problem as just another way to hire more employees and seek more government funding. Homelessness is not going to solved with massive interventions of government money and material provision. If the city of Torrance gets into the "business" of handing out goods, services etc. the city government jwill not resolve but rather increase the homeless problem.

The city of Torrance, at the very least, must send a clear message discouraging transients and chronic homeless from coming to the city, wandering our streets, disturbing the public and residential areas, and blocking the thoroughfare and commerce of residents and businesses in the city.  Six months ago, I dealt with a homeless individual who was either inebriated or mentally ill. He was walking westbound on Monterey Street five blocks away from the US Post Office. He had a bottle of some kind and threw it a parked car. One passerby, a mother with her child, was very alarmed by the violent behavior from the transient. She was relieved that I called the police. The transient then began wandering eastbound toward Crenshaw Blvd. The Torrance Police arrived, and they confronted the individual for a few minutes, then let him go. 

As I have just related, I have directly encountered his homeless situation, specifically with a potentially violent altercation. Moreover, it has been quite alarming to see homeless taking up space in a number of the bus stop benches throughout the city and even on sidewalks in front of businesses along a number of strip malls throughout the city, too. This problem needs proper controls and enforcement protocols, not a bunch of trainings and overly-funded government junkets. There should be basic strategies in place to discourage transients, squatting, and increased movement of homeless into the city of Torrance, at the very least.

Last of all, I would advise disbanding the Social Services Commission and simply allow the professionals and well-established experts in dealing with homeless issues continue to take the lead on handling issues such as homelessness, as well as veterans issue and mental health concerns in the community. If after all their input and meetings, they have come up with mostly more paperwork and a few "toiletry giveaways", they have long outlived their usefulness. 

Sincerely,

Arthur Schaper