LOS ANGELES, CA – Los Angeles city crews cleared a homeless encampment from the roof of a bus shelter in Brentwood on Monday after an individual was found living several feet above the sidewalk, surrounded by personal belongings.
The unusual encampment was located at Wilshire Boulevard and Barrington Avenue, where the shelter is used by multiple bus lines. The individual had reportedly been living on top of the structure, roughly 8 feet above the ground.
City officials said crews responded to the location and were also working with the local Council District office to connect the individual with services.
The cleanup comes as Los Angeles continues to face a large unsheltered population and an ongoing effort to balance restrictions on the use of public spaces with outreach, shelter and housing services.
Encampment found on top of bus shelter
The individual was reportedly living on the roof of the bus shelter, with personal belongings arranged around the elevated space.
The location is along Wilshire Boulevard in Brentwood, near Barrington Avenue, a heavily traveled Westside corridor surrounded by residential buildings, businesses and public transportation.
The area is served by Metro bus routes, including the Wilshire corridor. Information from Metro identifies Wilshire Boulevard as an important transit corridor connecting communities across Los Angeles.
Although the shelter is used by Metro passengers, the physical bus stop at Wilshire Boulevard and Barrington Avenue is maintained by the City of Los Angeles, according to information provided about the location.
That distinction is important because Metro operates the bus service while the city maintains many of the physical shelters and street-level transit facilities within Los Angeles.
City crews clear the rooftop camp
Mayor Karen Bass said city crews responded to the encampment at her direction.
“People cannot live on top of bus shelters,” Bass said, adding that city crews cleared the location and were working with the Council District office to connect the individual with services.
Los Angeles has used its Inside Safe program as one of its main approaches to addressing street homelessness. The program is designed to move people living in tents and encampments into interim housing and connect them with longer-term housing and supportive services.
The city describes Inside Safe as a housing-led approach that combines outreach, transportation, interim housing and coordination between city departments, Council offices and service providers.
The Los Angeles Department of Transportation also plays a role in city homelessness operations, including transportation, traffic control and coordination around encampment responses.
Officials did not publicly state whether the individual removed from the bus shelter accepted housing, shelter or other services after the cleanup.
Section 41.18 restrictions apply
The bus stop is located in an area where restrictions under Los Angeles Municipal Code Section 41.18 apply.
The ordinance establishes restrictions on sitting, lying, sleeping and storing personal property in certain public rights-of-way under specified circumstances.
The Los Angeles Municipal Code establishes restrictions in designated areas and around certain sensitive locations, subject to the requirements contained in the ordinance.
Section 41.18 does not create a blanket prohibition against homelessness on every sidewalk in Los Angeles. Certain restrictions depend on the specific location and circumstances, including City Council designation and required signage where applicable.
The Brentwood location was identified as an area where the Section 41.18 restrictions apply.
The rules are part of a broader framework the city uses when responding to encampments and other situations involving the use of public rights-of-way.
Homelessness remains widespread in Los Angeles
The Brentwood cleanup comes as Los Angeles continues to deal with tens of thousands of people experiencing homelessness.
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority reported that an estimated 45,194 people were experiencing homelessness in the City of Los Angeles during the 2026 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count.
Of that number, approximately 29,115 people were estimated to be living unsheltered, representing a 7.9% increase from the previous year.
LAHSA said the increase was not statistically significant, but pointed to a slowdown in the movement of people through the homelessness response system as one factor behind the change.
Across Los Angeles County, the 2026 count estimated 73,040 people experiencing homelessness, including approximately 49,002 people who were unsheltered.
The agency also reported that permanent housing placements declined from 28,625 people in 2024 to 23,532 in 2025, while movement from interim housing back to the street increased during the same period.
The figures illustrate the scale of the housing challenge facing Los Angeles and the difficulty of addressing encampments through individual cleanups alone.
City continues housing and outreach efforts
Los Angeles has increasingly emphasized a combination of encampment response, outreach and housing placements.
The city says Inside Safe operations are intended to move people living in tents and encampments into housing while preventing encampments from returning.
Those operations can involve city departments, Council offices, LAHSA and contracted service providers.
The city has also continued enforcement of restrictions governing public spaces, including Section 41.18 in designated locations.
The Brentwood bus shelter cleanup therefore reflects several issues that remain central to Los Angeles’ homelessness debate: the use of public transit infrastructure, restrictions on public spaces, outreach to people experiencing homelessness and the availability of housing and supportive services.
For the individual removed from the rooftop encampment, officials said the immediate response involved clearing the shelter while attempting to connect the person with available services.
