LA Moves To Ban Encampments Near Schools; Protestors Speak Out: Report

LOS ANGELES, CA— A meeting in the Los Angeles City Council chambers was disrupted Tuesday by protestors who opposed a vote from the council to ban homeless encampments within 500 feet of schools and daycare centers, according to media reports.

Municipal Code 41.18 — the ordinance that would prompt law enforcement to uproot encampments and ban unhoused people from sleeping near schools — received a 11-3 vote Tuesday. Previously, the vote was deferred after it failed to receive unanimous support by council members.

Opponents of the ordinance argue that the ordinance would further criminalize homelessness. Protestors carried signs and chanted "shut it down," inside the chambers. Due to the unrest, City Council President Nury Martinez delayed the meeting for a time until protestors left. The council then voted in favor of approving the amendment.

"The least I can do for my community is to be able to clear the public right of way for them to send their kids to school every day and feel safe," Martinez said at the meeting.

The discussion comes as Project Roomkey, a government program that temporarily houses the homeless, is set to end. City Council members will have another vote next week on the ordinance, requiring a majority vote for it to pass.

Read more from ABC: Los Angeles OKs sweeping ban on homeless camps near schools