1400 Riviera Avenue, Venice CA. 90291

December 6, 2016

Los Angeles City Council 200 N. Spring Street Los Angeles, CA 90012

Re: Support for Motion to Reinstate Alcohol-Specific Land Use Conditions

Members of Los Angeles City Council,

This letter is to make known the Homeless Task Force’s formal support of the conditions motion, which calls for the reinstatement of admissible conditions of approval specific to the sale and service of alcohol on Conditional Use Beverage permits in the City of Los Angeles, as a means of protecting public health, safety and quality of life for Los Angeles neighborhoods.Our Homeless Task Force organization has been assisting the homeless community in Venice for a number of years with placement into rehab, housing and return home to their families of origin. We have watched this population, both young and old suffer the consequences of excessive alcohol consumption and the easy availability of it by vendors who sometimes sell irresponsibly.Without the ability to place alcohol-related conditions such as restrictions on types of alcohol sold or hours of alcohol sales, residents and community partners, including law enforcement, have limited ability to mitigate land use impacts stemming from the sale or service of alcohol.Applying alcohol-specific conditions to local permits is a proven method to protect communities, while fostering economic growth and business interests. Such conditions have sound legal grounding and are utilized in nearly every California municipality.Conditions or performance standards for alcohol retailers is important in this community because it well lessen the deviant behavior from excessive alcohol consumption on the streets of Venice, it will save lives, and lessen the homeless on homeless crime, and enable a reduction in the overall crime inflicted on the residents and their property.We thank you in advance for taking this crucial action to protect the health and safety of our communities.

Sincerely,

CSteven H. Weller

Rev. Steven H. Weller Senior Pastor, Venice Foursquare Church Police Chaplain, Homeless Task Force 310 699-7424