Group Urges L.A. to Build Housing on Vacant Lots

A group of civic leaders calling itself the Committee for Greater L.A. is using a study it commissioned to urge Los Angeles city leaders to convert city-owned vacant lots into affordable housing or shelters for unhoused people. “The study, conducted by the nonprofit Center for Pacific Urbanism, analyzed variables including slope, zoning and proximity to utilities to winnow down 65,000 parcels owned by city, county, state, federal and other agencies such as Metro and the Los Angeles Unified School District.”

As Doug Smith explains in the Los Angeles Times, “In releasing a database of 126 proposed sites online, the committee sought to keep up pressure on Mayor Karen Bass to follow through on her campaign pledge to build 1,000 beds on public land in her first year in office.” Mayor Bass says “she has her own list of properties and her own,” longer timeline.

A brief Los Angeles Times analysis shows that some of the sites identified in the study have political challenges that were not included in the results, such as local opposition to shelters or ownership by multiple agencies. Even sites owned entirely by the city encounter bureaucratic and financial obstacles. “Public parking lots, which also make up slightly more than half of the committee’s priority list, are often problematic because they serve local businesses and generate revenue for the city.”

The study also acknowledged the potential of privately owned vacant lots, which in some cases are better suited for housing. “Some organizations, such as churches, may be open to using their land for purposes that align with their mission, it said, but made no mention of eminent domain.”