Hope Street Fire Zone Updates, Properties Declared Public Nuisance
The L.A. Board of Building and Safety Commissioners unanimously voted the Hope Street properties at 1220, 1224, and 1246-48 public nuisance properties on Tuesday, August 25.This status shifts the property from standard code compliance to mandatory government intervention and legal enforcement. With that designation L.A. officials have more tools, legally and financially, to enact on nuisance properties.
New options include:
· Mandatory abatement orders with a strict timeline (often 10 days or fewer) to correct the violations
· City-executed abatement with tax liens and cost recovery where the city will clean, board up, secure, or demolish the property, and the city bills the owner for all administrative, legal, and physical abatement costs. If unpaid, expenses become a special assessment tax lien against the property.
· City can remove conditional use permits or impose strict operational conditions on commercial properties (e.g., forced closures, mandatory security).
· Under California Penal Code 372/373a and local codes, property owners who ignore abatement orders can face misdemeanor criminal charges (up to six months in jail per day of unaddressed nuisance) or civil lawsuits brought by the City Attorney.
This is a major step toward solving the problems in the 1200 block of South Hope Street. Many people worked together to make this happen.
Building Inspector Zeydi Stewart did an excellent job of presenting the facts at the August 25 hearing. She shared letters written by SPNA (South Park Neighborhood Association), DTLA RA (Downtown LA Residents Association), DLANC (Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council), SPBID (South Park Business Improvement District), and L.A. Council District 14. Stewart noted the number of letters and petitions received from residents – especially Hope + Flower resident organizers with their massive effort.
CD 14 Planning Director Kevin Ocubillo presented in support of the public nuisance designation for Ysabel Jurado’s office.
The neighborhood was well represented at the August 25 hearing. SPNA, DTLA RA, DLANC, South Park BID, and residents who testified included Howard Rubinroit (Evo), Teresa Hillery (Grand Lofts – DLANC + DTLA RA), Payas Parab (DLANC), Michael Frazier (DTLA RA), Rich Sarin (South Park BID), and Debra Shrout (Luma - SPNA). Other residents present at the hearing included Terri Rubinroit (Evo), Margarita Garcia (Elleven), John Nilsson (Ten50), and Reeyan Raynes (DLANC).
Representing the owner of the properties at 1220 and 1224, Michael LoGrande spoke and asked that the properties not be labeled nuisance properties and asked for a short continuance while they try to get financing. No commissioner supported that request.
No representative for 1246-1248 S. Hope owned by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation spoke.
The work leading up to this important vote must not go unnoticed. DTLA RA organized a resident petition and a letter-writing campaign in preparation for the meeting. Four hundred residents signed a petition and 60 wrote letters to the Department of Building and Safety asking that the properties be declared a nuisance and proceed to abatement process.
Residents spoke in favor of a nuisance resolution from DLANC’s Livability Committee, which passed on August 11, and wrote letters supporting Council Member Jurado’s resolution at a City Council meeting to declare the properties an official nuisance.
SPNA, DTLA RA, and DLANC representatives met with an owner representative for 1220, 1224, and 1240 S. Hope on August 21. The owner had boarded up the windows, doors, and entrances. However, that same night trespassers scaled walls to get into the buildings, assembled makeshift bridges to span space between buildings, and continued to occupy the space. The request to add 24/7 security has been made. A second meeting to address security is scheduled for the first week in September.
In addition, SPNA, DTLA RA, and DLANC sent a certified letter to the property owner of 1223 South Hope requesting cleanup of the inside and outside of the property, securing property from trespassers, and 24/7 security. No response from the owner has been received as of this writing.
This is a giant step forward. But there is still much work ahead. Take a moment to enjoy the good news! And then we will get back to work! More on this in a future email.
By Debra Shrout
Note: See SPNA’s story on the Hope Street fires from the August newsletter for background information - https://www.spna-dtla.org/blog/fire-another-fire-more-fires-life-on-hope-street-in-south-park