PLANNING WATCH – A new independent media source, LA Public Press, reported on a recent armed confrontation between two homeless people and the Los Angeles Police Department in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles.by LA Public Press:”This incident of violence is the latest escalation against the community of unhoused people living on Etna Avenue in Van Nuys. ” The article then listed incidents dating back to August 2020, when the LAPD began harassing Etna’s homeless camp and neighborhood volunteers.
“Those living at or near the encampment… turned Etna Street into a vibrant community. They held a festival called Etnapalooza, and at one time even organized movie nights. We held weekly community nights where we distributed hygiene kits, medical supplies, harm reduction supplies, and food while displaying members’ artwork.”
At the same time, the state legislature and the city of Los Angeles adopted a long list of real estate frauds. Their official rationale was that cutting zoning regulations would create a construction boom and reduce homelessness. However, this justification is clearly false. This is because fraud increases the market value of private property, thereby inflating prices for existing residential tenants. Next, the City Council will respond to unhoused housing complaints and lobbying by developers and order the Los Angeles Police Department to dismantle the resulting homeless encampments.
by public news organization According to the article, these LAPD actions begin with harassment of homeless people and their encampments. Additionally, the City Council adopted a detailed anti-camping ordinance prohibiting homeless camping from certain areas. City Council District 5 also fenced off public areas, forcing homeless people to relocate to other districts. This movement tactic can be seen in full on San Vicente Boulevard near the Carthay Circle area.
In Van Nuys, these anti-homeless acts escalated to include armed confrontations by LAPD against homeless residents in the Civic Center area.
City Hall’s decision to treat homelessness as a police issue rather than a housing issue is pushing more Angelenos into homelessness. Along with housing prices, the value of private residential land also increases. Additionally, other causes of homelessness remain, including the elimination of HUD and CRA public housing programs, evictions, wage stagnation, inflation, home and apartment speculation, and new real estate fraud.
- California’s new law AB 1033 allows property owners to treat accessory dwelling units (ADUs) as duplexes. You can also rent or sell your ADU. When this happens, the new owner becomes the landlord and is responsible for maintenance and utilities.
- Another real estate scam, the City of Los Angeles’ Affordable Housing Rationalization Ordinance provides up to five zoning exemptions for affordable housing projects, including doubling the project’s density to a maximum floor area ratio (FAR) of 3.5:1. can receive.
- It does not apply to Los Angeles, which already allows R-3 and R-4 apartments on commercial properties, but it does not apply to other cities such as Long Beach, AB 2011, and Senate Bill 6 will be approved in July 2023. It took effect on the 1st. This new law allows it. The developer turned around and “Underutilized and empty commercial buildings. . . into residential buildings.”
Because these and similar housing bills are based on undocumented claims to reduce homelessness and make no mention of how they will benefit real estate developers, we needs to be tracked carefully. So far, LA’s annual homeless count, the only local data available, reveals that homelessness is on the rise. As for real estate developers, who are the actual beneficiaries, the latest Los Angeles development map documents the current real estate boom despite the city’s steady population decline.
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), which compiles this data, is a regional planning agency jointly established by Los Angeles County and the City of Los Angeles. From 2015 to 2022, the number of homeless people in Los Angeles increased from 25,000 to 40,000, even as the city promoted housing programs aimed at reducing homelessness.
- Senate Bill 1818
- Transportation-centric community density bonus.
- attached dwelling unit
- LA’s 2021-2029 Housing Element has 136 implementation programs. If that were to be rolled out, I would expect more homelessness.
Considering the counterproductive effects of these old and new housing programs, two conclusions can be drawn:
First, local authorities respond to public complaints about homeless encampments with orders from the Los Angeles Police Department to push homeless encampments to other areas, sometimes at gunpoint.
Second, once the Los Angeles Police Department clears homeless encampments, developers can build high-rent, high-rise apartment buildings on the newly cleared construction sites.
Police harassment of homeless people therefore serves two purposes. It appeases agitated neighbors and creates construction spots for lucrative real estate projects.
(Dick Platkin is a former Los Angeles city planner who reports on local planning issues in Los Angeles. City Watch LA. He is a board member of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Federation. (UN4LA). Previous columns are available at: CityWatchLA Archive.Please send your questions here [email protected]. )