California homeless flocking to Malibu beaches, dumping sewage
Homeless camps causing a health violation, officials say
Officials in Malibu, California, are considering relocating dozens of homeless residents who are staying in RVs along Malibu’s coastline.
Officials say more people are moving to public beaches, using public parking spots and staying for days and weeks at a time. This movement has caused many problems, beyond just denying other residents beach access and parking spots.
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“Motorhomes have 30- to 40-, 50-gallon capacities in the septic systems,” Malibu councilmember Jefferson Wagner told FOX Business on Wednesday. “They're dumping [sewage] right onto the rocks or onto the beach, into the public right of way.”
Wagner said this is “a health violation, and it's a humanitarian violation.”
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Wagner calls this an abuse of public lands.
Officials are trying to combat this by prohibiting overnight parking, changing signage to instruct people to move vehicles every couple of hours and offering vouchers for inland housing.
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Earlier in February, the Los Angeles Times editorial board stated its support for the relocation of these homeless residents, calling the city’s approach “comprehensive and empathetic.”
Other safety concerns of the homeless camps include open fires for cooking and heating (an issue important to Californians who have battled many wildfires in the past years), as well as petty crime.
At least 81 vehicles were tallied in January’s homeless count of Malibu up from 61 in 2019, according to Fox News.
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