Los Angeles city officials Wednesday began a much delayed inspection process at a Sun Valley house whose owner is described to be a hoarder by neighbors due to massive amounts of trash, debris and hazardous material surrounding the home.
Officials with the Los Angeles City Fire Department and the Department of Building and Safety, some of whom were seen with firearms, went inside the perimeters of the property, which resembles a junkyard with vehicles, trailers, furniture along with other items.
The city of Los Angeles has been aware of the problem since 2019, according to Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, but having to go through proper legal proceedings, especially during the COVID pandemic, prevented the city from gaining access to the property until Monday.
“The courts allowed the LA City Fire Department as the lead in support with the Department of Building and Safety to go out and conduct greater, more comprehensive inspections,” Rodriguez said, adding the findings from the inspection will then help the city determine whether the property should be declared a nuisance.
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A next-door neighbor said she and her family have put up with the trash, toxic chemicals and even drug paraphernalia.
“Fires are my biggest concern,” Elena Malone said. The last fire on the property – I was hopefully there and called in the fire department. They were there, and they came very quickly. But they could not access the property with their trucks. They had to carry hoses in by foot.”
Malone questioned the slow progress of cleaning out the property, demanding the city to have a “full intervention.”
“If the court system is not able to solve this by going through legal measures since 2019, it does seem like there must be a problem here,” she said.
Councilmember Rodriguez, who represents the Sun Valley area, said the city has tried to work with the property owner, who at times showed “some interest in good faith” to clear out the trash.
But officials from the Department of Building and Safety ultimately determined that not enough visible progress was made, leading to the property owner to be sentenced to 180 days in jail. But the woman served only one day, Rodriguez said.
Deputy Chief David Perez added that his inspectors would comb through property so they can help decide the next proper steps in addressing the situation.
“We're going to build the totality of all of the different violations that we found today – the nature of those violations, how critical they are, how much of a health hazard or fire hazard they are – and then we're going to take that entire package and give it to the city.”
Despite armed officers present during the inspection, the Los Angeles Police Department’s Deputy Chief Ruby Flores said her team was at the site to “support service” for the inspectors.
