Anaheim Council vs. the Working Poor

Maybe it’s because we were poor once. . . .

I was a sophomore in high school and our family of five had to move in with my grandparents. For four months, the seven of us shared a one-bedroom apartment. My parents slept on a sofa bed, my sister and brother shared a rollaway bed, and I slept on an Army cot.

My parents were temporarily strapped for cash. They needed some time to get back on their feet. Grandma and Grandpa were the safety net. After four months, we moved into our own apartment and regained a sense of balance.

Maybe that’s why the Anaheim City Council’s recent decisions to impose a 30-day occupancy limit at two motels strikes a nerve.

On paper--to people who may never have been poor or who, if they were, have forgotten what it was like--the limit makes sense. The council majority and police say that crime was flourishing at the motels and that keeping the clientele from settling in should reduce the problems.

Besides, they say, motels aren’t meant to be homes.

Logic--the way the world is drawn up on paper--doesn’t mean a whole lot when you’re down and out.

I went out Friday night to the Lincoln Inn on West Lincoln Avenue in Anaheim. Formerly the Seville Inn, the Lincoln has been upgraded significantly in recent months since Ben Karmelich bought it, and crime has virtually disappeared--a point even the police conceded at a recent meeting.

Still, the council targeted the Lincoln because of past problems. Karmelich is upset that many of the people in his 117 units will have to move out. Many, he says, are people hit by temporary adversity who need stability and the cushion of being able to pay by the week for a roof over their heads.

What he means is that many simply can’t pay first- and last-month’s rent plus a security deposit to get into an apartment. The council’s action will force them to motel-hop or be homeless, because it also mandated that residents not return for a second stay within a 90-day period.

Friday nights used to be a dicey proposition at the Seville. Reports of drug-dealing or prostitution would light up the switchboard at the police station. Not anymore: Karmelich says he’s evicted the troublemakers.

Ask Peggy, 15, if It’s Fair

While I walked the grounds Friday night, a young girl wearing headphones approached me about 7:30 in the motel courtyard. She was listening to music on headphones and carrying something in a sack.

She said her name was Peggy and that she was 15. She goes to Western High School and, although I didn’t ask, I’m guessing she’s a sophomore.

She was bringing dinner for her and her mom--pizza from a nearby Shakey’s. Her dad was working and her sister was at a friend’s. The family has been staying at the Lincoln for about five months, Peggy said.

She wasn’t aware the council’s decision would force them out.

Fair or unfair, I asked. “Unfair,” she said resolutely but not angrily. “If you kick people out, they’re not going to have anyplace to go. They’re going to be in the middle of the street.”

Her dad is a security guard and her mom baby-sits, she said. I asked if the family’s finances were tight. “Really tight,” she said. In their motel room, she sleeps on the floor in a sleeping bag; her sister, 17, on a rollaway bed.

I asked if she liked living there. “I don’t really like it, but it’s OK,” she said.

So how would she feel if the family had to move? “I’d be really upset because we don’t have anyplace to go,” she said.

The council took its actions despite comments from area school officials that forcing families to uproot--and presumably go from motel to motel--would cause hardship for the children.

Forget that these working poor families can get a little breathing room by only having to pay a week at a time--around $160 at the Lincoln--instead of a month’s rent in advance. Forget that a few months of that might enable them to save some money to actually get an apartment.

Forget that Karmelich has purged the troublemakers. Forget all that and, instead, punish the residents for trouble caused by their predecessors.

That’s what the Anaheim council has done, while coating it with the rationale that a motel isn’t a home.

Well, when you’re flush and when life is going your way, a motel isn’t your home.

Tell that to Peggy, 15 years old and bringing home pizza in a sack to her mother on a Friday night.

All before she spends another comfy night sleeping on the floor.

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Dana Parsons’ column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Readers may reach Parsons by calling (714) 966-7821, by writing to him at The Times’ Orange County edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626, or by e-mail at dana.parsons@latimes.com.