Clash With Charities Housing Homeless at Motel : Neighbors Oppose Expansion of Shelter

Residents of a North Hollywood neighborhood, complaining of an influx of criminals and troublemakers, clashed at a community meeting Wednesday with representatives of charitable groups that want to expand use of a local motel as a shelter for the homeless.

The two sides debated the future of the Fiesta Motel on Lankershim Boulevard, which since January has been providing 20 rooms for previously homeless people. The rooms are paid for by vouchers from Better Valley Services, a charitable group that has received $75,000 in federal grants.

At the hearing at the Arminta Street Elementary School, a suacesqion of area residents complained that the program is dilling their neighborhood with alcoholics, drug addicts, vandals and thieves.

Representatives of Better Valley Services said they want to see the motel purchased or leased to use all its 70 rooms for the homeless.

“You want to turn this dump into an even bigger dump,” shouted Mike Winkler, who said he runs a store across the street from the motel.

He said the shelter brought in people who broke the windows of his store, painted the walls with graffiti, increased crime in the neighborhood “and now you want to bring in more bums and dope addicts and derelicts that I’m paying for to live for free?”

Ben Brown, a volunteer with Better Valley Services, said the people sent to the shelter are screened. “They aren’t dope addicts and drunks and prostitutes,” he said.

Nancy Bianconi, executive director of Better Valley Services, told the crowd of about 120 that the motel residents could be better controlled if the motel were devoted entirely to use as a shelter. Administrators then would be able to keep out or evict those who would not live by the rules, she said.

Capt. William Gartland of the Los Angeles Police Department appeared to agree with the unhappy residents. He called the motel “a very troublesome location . . . we make a lot of arrests.” However, he said police have no record of how many of the arrested persons are there on the voucher program.