HOMELESS CAMPERS in Garden Grove’s Civic Center Park has raised the issue of a emergency shelter in the city (Shutterstock).

By Jim Tortolano

The issue of homelessness flared up at an otherwise routine meeting of the Garden Grove City Council Tuesday night.

Councilmember Stephanie Klopfenstein (District 5) spoke about conditions in the Civic Center Park at Euclid Street and Stanford Avenue.

“I’m tired of seeing the drug use and filth there,” she said. “I’m as angry as I would be if it was in my backyard and it is my backyard because it’s in my district

“I’ve heard from countless residents about this,” she said. “I’m tired of the park being held hostage by people who don’t want help although they’ve been offered help.”

She noted that regarding police action to clear the park of transients, “their hands are tied.” However, she wants some action on an issue that’s been – she said – on a “slow boil” for over a year.

Mayor Pro Tem Kim Nguyen agreed that there was a problem at that park, well-known for its ponds and resident water fowl population but noted that without an emergency shelter for the homeless, the city’s anti-camping ordinance can’t be enforced.

City Manager Scott Stiles said the city leadership was “examining our options” on the problem and added that “it’s very difficult to find a location” in a city that’s largely developed.

Huntington Beach, faced with a similar problem, went through three proposed locations – often meeting with neighborhood opposition – before finally erecting a “navigation shelter” on Beach Boulevard near Talbert Street.

Also Tuesday night, the council voted to:

• proclaim Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 as Hispanic Heritage Month in Garden Grove
• proclaim Oct. 11 to be Indigenous Peoples Day, and
• support the establishment of the creation of the Orange County Veterans Cemetery in Anaheim Hills.

The next regular city council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 14.