HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Some Hollywood business owners are unhappy with the removal of planter boxes intended to discourage homeless encampments in the area.
The city says the business installed the planters without permission, but the owners say their complaints went unheeded and they were forced to take matters into their own hands.
The flowerpots along Sunset Boulevard were removed on Monday, a move that has sparked controversy.
Local business owners began placing planters in flower beds in early May to discourage homeless encampments.
Blake Edwards works in advertising in the area and hopes the farmers will stay.
“While they're here, I can't even do my job because they're terrorizing people,” he said of the homeless issue.
Supporters of the planters say the street has been plagued by homeless encampments and trash for more than two years.
The companies claim the city of Los Angeles failed to fix the problem.
“This is just going to bring a lot of hassle to this neighborhood,” Edwards said. “Plus, there's a high school across the street. No kid should have to go through that, you know?”
Businesses installed flower beds on sidewalks in May and cleared the encampments within days, owners said.
The city then posted fliers announcing that the planters would be removed.
A representative from City Councilman Hugo Soto Martinez's office said the planters were removed because they did not have a permit, and that the people who lived there had been relocated because of the Inside Safe program.
Amid concern from local businesses, workers removed the flower pots in the afternoon.
“If they're going to remove the planters, they should put something in their place or have some sort of beautification strategy in place instead of just putting a body on the ground,” Andrew Monheim said.
“This is not a war on homelessness,” Monheim added. “We love homeless people and want them to be safe. This is a war on neglect.”
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