On the morning of February 21, organizers representing more than 20 mutual aid organizations came together to confront Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez during a campaign event at Bellevue Recreation Center.
They were there to address his wishy-washy stance on Los Angeles Municipal Code 41.18—the controversial “anti-homeless” law banning unhoused people from sitting, lying, or storing personal property near schools, public parks, daycares, and hundreds of other "sensitive sites” all over the city.
At the protest, the assembled presented a fabric banner reading, “Abolish 41.18,” while passing out baked goods and giving speeches calling for the end 41.18, which can result in fines of up to $2,500 and/or up to six months in jail.
Kris Rehl, an organizer from L.A. Street Care, led the action with the hope of sparking a conversation between activists and Soto-Martinez, in order to get him to address their demands that he repeals the 41.18 zones that were put in place by his predecessor, former Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell. This comes at a time of heightened immigration raids and the leadup to global events like the World Cup and 2028 Olympics.
“We think it’s unacceptable that people are being criminalized for simply existing in public,” Rehl tells L.A. TACO during an interview, before organizers marched over to Soto-Martinez’s campaign launch event. “We know that Hugo doesn’t have the power to repeal all of 41.18 but he does have the power to repeal Mitchell Farrell’s [41.18] zones, and we feel like that is an important first step in fighting back against this.”
Rehl says they’ve witnessed Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers destroy shelters, paperwork, and personal property while enforcing 41.18, leaving both documented and undocumented people without vital records like birth certificates and identification cards.
In addition to banning people from sitting, lying, or storing personal property close to a long list of designated sites—including public parks, daycares, and freeway ramps—city council members can establish additional zones in their districts where 41.18 is enforced. Those so-called “anti-homeless” zones require the approval of the full City Council.
Since taking office, Soto-Martinez has not established any additional 41.18 zones in his district, and he’s voted against every proposal to set up 41.18 zones outside of CD13. But the 41.18 zones that his predecessor set up remain active.
While campaigning for City Council, Soto-Martinez compared 41.18 to “stop-and-frisk laws,” Rehl pointed out. And in 2022, the future councilmember pledged not to use the law to displace unhoused people.
But according to the City Controller’s Office, there has been a more than 480% increase in arrests during sanitation sweeps since Soto-Martinez took office, despite the council members' supposed stance against 41.18.
In 2021—during Mitch O’Farrell’s final year in office—eight people were arrested for 41.18 violations in Council District 13. By comparison, in 2023, there were 47 arrests.
‘Run To Win, and Lead To Lose’
For 10 years, TerriAnne Holznan was unhoused. For a period, she lived with her husband under the Sunset Boulevard Bridge in Silver Lake. When 41.18 zones were implemented in 2021, she recalls cops constantly threatening to arrest them and give them tickets for violating 41.18.
At one point, she was arrested, placed in jail, and then later taken to a psychiatric unit.
“I was in psychosis because I was high on drugs and I didn’t know where I was,” Holznan says during an interview with L.A. TACO. “I didn’t know my own name.”
Holznan remembers feeling like she was unable to speak and drooling from her mouth before she was arrested. When she finally found her voice to tell the police officers she needed medication, she was placed in jail.
“I was in jail for a month because I was in psychosis and I kept having seizures,” she says. “I kept missing my court dates, so they kept me in jail.”
With the support of nonprofits like Step Up, which aids unhoused people, Holznan gained access to medication, housing, and an opportunity to pursue business management classes at Los Angeles City College (LACC).
“[41.18] demoralizes people,” she says. “They’re not given an opportunity to [do] anything in life because they’re looked at as homeless, so they’re looked at as less than, and [LAPD officers] don’t listen to them.”
“I have voted against every single 41.18 motion that has come into city council,” Soto-Martinez says in his defense during an interview with L.A. TACO at the protest. “There are some zones that have been here before I took office. We asked for those to not be enforced because we want to lead with services, that’s how we approach it.”
The council member claims that the city council does not have enough votes to repeal 41.18 zones citywide. He promises that his team would review their data and the demands of activists in order to have a “common understanding” of the issue.
In a brief letter issued in response to a “demand letter” signed by over 50 different community organizations urging the council member to repeal 41.18 zones in his district, Soto-Martinez says that his team will work on a “comprehensive analysis of the 41.18 zones, and enforcement data in Council District 13.”
He also emphasizes that he does not support 41.18 and that next steps will be rooted in “data, transparency and community engagement.”
His statement does not address any immigration-related concerns.
“It’s difficult to take Hugo’s response in good faith when he offered nothing, not even a timeline,” Rehl tells L.A. TACO. “We first made this demand to his office almost a year ago, and we had to disrupt his campaign canvassing launch just to get a response.”
Rehl tells us that when he asked the council member at the protest if it would be worth repealing O’Farrell’s 41.18 zones if it could prevent even just a single unhoused person from getting arrested, Soto-Martinez responded, “Yes.”
“I guess he changed his mind,” Rehl adds.
Former mayoral candidate, Gina Viola, believes Soto-Martinez is too concerned about having enough city council votes to repeal 41.18 zones, and that this mentality can lead to a conflict of interest when it comes to serving the constituents that voted him into office.
“I just want to see politicians be public servants again,” she tells L.A. TACO during the protest. “I want to see people run to win and lead to lose, because the absolute corruption in this city demands it if we’re ever going to see any change.”
