Not in our backyard: Wealthy Californians tell homeless to move on

Orange County supervisors voted at the weekend to provide $70 million in funding to house the homeless. As part of this, they proposed temporary camps to rehouse homeless people in tents in Irvine, Laguna Niguel, and on a former landfill in Huntington Beach.

The Republican-leaning region is one the most prosperous in California. According to a 2016 study, 15 of the 20 wealthiest large cities in the US are found in California, with five from Orange County alone.

At the same time, California has the highest number of homeless people in any state in the country, according to 2017 report by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. There were at least 130,000 homeless people living in California in 2017, a 14 percent increase from the year before.

Orange County’s move did not go down well with Huntington Beach, Laguna Niguel, and Irvine City Councils, where homes are among the priciest in the county. Irvine City and Laguna Niguel Councils voted on Tuesday to sue the county and put a halt to the proposal.

Irvine City residents expressed their outrage at Orange County’s decision, citing fears of falling house prices and crime. “This freaks me out. I moved to O.C. because I thought it would be a safe place. Now it's getting more and more like L.A.," Rob Howard, an office manager in Irvine, told the LA Times. "Who wants tons of traffic, high prices and all kinds of unwanted people around you?"

Huntington Beach City Council is also considering a lawsuit. The temporary shelter located on a former landfill site would be a "health and safety catastrophe,"  City Attorney Michael Gates said.

"It's right by Central Park. It's right near where kids play sports and, more importantly, that piece of property has been known as a contaminated site." he said.

Ann Huang, a computer programmer in Laguna Niguel, said,"I understand that we should be sensitive to needy people. But definitely, I'm going to fight any kind of facility that's close to our towns and kids."

However, homeless advocates applauded the Orange County authorities’ decision. “We commend Judge David O. Carter and the County for working feverishly the past few days to address the immediate needs of Orange County's homeless individuals,” wrote local group United to End Homelessness OC on Twitter.