Removal of Garden Bed Planters in LA Has People Outraged

In a vaccuum, it'd be pretty hard to find fault with garden bed planters. What's not to like? They're simple, easy to use, and when properly tended to by an owner with a green thumb, they instantly add tons of curb appeal to any place they're put in front of.

But in one popular Los Angeles neighborhood, garden bed planters are currently at the center of a very thorny controversy- and I'm not talking about a rose garden here. The city's decision to remove a number of recently-installed planters in the busy neighborhood has kicked off tons of outrage and a burgeoning war between local business owners and the city government.

According to @abc7la , this all started last month when business owners on Hollywood's Sunset Boulevard started putting garden planters out in front of their businesses - not only for the curb appeal boost, but also to discourage homeless encampments. Business owners complained that the homeless population trashed the area, blocked the sidewalks, and threatened customers for years. According to KTLA 5 News, locals sent multiple requests for help to LA city officials and the mayor's office, only to be ignored time and time again.

"It just brings a lot of nasty stuff to the area," business owner Blake Edwards vented to ABC 7 LA . "Plus, there's a high school right across the street. I mean, as a kid they shouldn't be subject to that, y'know?"

Related: Gardener Makes the Coolest Spiral Raised Bed Garden

Finally, business owners had enough and put out these raised garden beds in early May. It worked almost overnight, and within days, the encampments cleared out. All was well for a few weeks, but last week, the city government started posting flyers warning that the planters would be removed - and on June 24th, they followed through with their promise.

According to a rep from City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez, the planters were removed because they had no permits. In light of the city's years-long inaction prior to the installation of the planters, that response really rankled the irate locals.

"This is not a war on homelessness," local businessman Andrew Monheim argued his case to ABC 7 LA . "We love homeless people, and we want them to be safe. This is a war on neglect."

Outrage Over the Planter Problem

The general consensus from many online commenters was that the LA city government was failing everyone here - both the business owners and the local homeless population.

"As they pointed out, two years of tents and no action. But they crack down on this..." scoffed a TikTok user named Andy. "They [the city government] have been promising to help the homeless for years. These people should have been housed. Very sad."

"Dude, c'mon, they need to come up with a solution before removing it," commented @sumtroll.

"The city/state does anything else but make affordable housing ," said @omgheyjr.

The battle between Sunset Boulevard business owners and the Los Angeles city government rages on. But it seems like at least some progress has been made on the homelessness issue in the neighborhood. Councilmember Martinez's office told ABC 7 LA that the people who previously camped on that stretch of Sunset Boulevard had been moved through an operation by the city's " Inside Safe " program. About 20 homeless people have been moved off the streets and into nearby motels.

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