A shopping center in West Hollywood has deployed a chirping device to keep the unhoused from a stairwell outside a Trader Joe’s store, but it has some upset.
KTLA’s Gene Kang was outside the Trader Joe’s store off of Santa Monica Boulevard, where the chirping could be heard loud and clear during his live report Friday morning.
The device mounted above the popular grocery store chain’s door makes a cricket or smoke detector-like chirping sound as blue lights continuously flash to keep people from loitering or sleeping in the stairwell.
The “Blue Chirper” is a motion-activated device invented out of frustration by Santa Monica resident Stephen McMahon after a neighbor was attacked by two men.
McMahon has since sold about two dozen of the devices to local business owners and residents looking for a “less-aggressive” way of keeping the unhoused away.
Building managers at the plaza where the Trader Joe’s is located have reported positive outcomes since the device was put up.
However, some say that simply pushing the homeless to a different neighborhood does not help solve the city’s problem.
West Hollywood officials have said the device undermines the city’s homeless outreach efforts and plan to investigate potential noise code violations.
