The Anaheim City Council recently voted 6-0 to tighten restrictions on The Anaheim Lodge and Travel Inn on Beach Boulevard, which had many complaints from people living in the area.
“[These motels] are about sex, drugs and violence. That sums that up in three words. Sex, drugs and violence. There’s a lot of prostituition, a lot of drugs and a lot of violence going on all the same time,” says Marleta, an unhoused woman who sometimes stayed at the Beach Boulevard motels, in a story last year by Saul Gonzalez.
For these motels to keep operating, they have to meet at least 20 new requirements from the city. For example, they must employ a 24/7 on-site manager, do regular maintenance, impose a 21-and-over age requirement for guests, create a security and operations plan that’s renewed yearly, and ban short-duration rentals.
Stanton and Buena Park have also had problems with motels. Buena Park purchased motels and replaced them with restaurants and other attractions. Stanton purchased motels and turned them into Project Homekey housing.