L.A. Takes Aim Again at Blighted Dwellings

In a new offensive against blight and substandard housing, a corps of city building inspectors are expected to converge today on South-Central Los Angeles with orders to find illegal and unsafe living conditions, including garages converted into makeshift homes.

The house-by-house inspections mark a dramatic shift in city code enforcement policy, a result of pressure from community activists and City Councilman Robert Farrell, and a recent increase in the ranks of city building inspectors.

It is the beginning of a “new pro-active approach” to neighborhood blight, said Milford Bliss, chief of the city’s Building and Safety Department’s Community Safety Bureau.

“We’ve got to expose the creeping blight in our neighborhoods,” Bliss said. “We’ve got to use our policing powers to get property owners to reverse the downward spiral.”

In weeks ahead, a team of five inspectors will be walking onto the property of hundreds of single-family homes and duplexes in a 4-square-mile area bounded by 81st and 111th streets, Central Avenue and Figueroa Street. Farrell and residents have identified this area as most in need of enforcement action because many of its houses are ramshackle and need structural repair.

More than half the residents of the predominantly black and Latino area earn less than $15,000 a year and live in single-family homes that are between 20 and 40 years old, according to 1988 statistics from The Times marketing research department. About 59% of the housing units in the area are occupied by renters.

“These inspections are of fundamental importance to my district,” Farrell said. “This is about preserving valuable housing stock.”

Carrying walkie-talkies to give them quick access to Building and Safety Department supervisors and police, inspectors will enter yards, garages, sheds, living rooms and kitchens to conduct the home inspections.

Will Seek Permission

Under city law, the inspectors have the right to enter property if they suspect dangerous building conditions exist. However, officials said they would trod lightly on personal property and will first seek homeowner permission.

If the owner refuses but inspectors still suspect hazardous conditions, the city can seek a special court order to gain access to the house.

Farrell said he and his staff will review the results of the inspections and will decide which houses have the most serious problems. Orders to repair or clean up property then will be issued.

The new campaign is supported by neighborhood leaders who have long worked on community clean-up campaigns. “We are sick and tired of people letting their houses go,” said Ferdia Harris, 70, founder of the Council of Community Clubs. “If someone lives in a shanty they are going to have to fix it up. It’s as simple as that.”

The inspection program will deal with three levels of violations. The easiest and least controversial will be ordering the removal of yard debris such as abandoned cars and appliances.

More difficult to enforce will be orders forcing homeowners to repair structural defects in their homes, such as crumbling chimneys and porches or faulty wiring and plumbing. Low-interest or no-interest loans will be offered to pay for the repairs. Those who refuse to make the repairs could face misdemeanor charges.

The most sensitive and controversial aspect of the program will be cracking down on dwellings that are occupied unlawfully and developing a city policy to deal with them, officials said.

Black-Market Housing

Farrell and others expect the South-Central inspection to shed light on Los Angeles’ black-market housing industry, in which a sub-strata of poor people live in garages, sheds or other illegally added structures.

These dwellings, many of them converted garages, typically violate a number of city zoning and building laws. They flaunt zoning ordinances because they are second units on single-family house lots. They often pose sanitation, electrical and plumbing hazards.

Although the number of such unlawful dwellings in the city has not been determined, a Times study in May, 1987, revealed that about 200,000 people live in 42,000 illegally converted garages throughout Los Angeles County.

The city inspects illegal dwellings only when neighbors or tenants complain. Inspectors usually order the property owner to convert the dwelling back to its original use, forcing tenants out, Bliss said.

‘Humanitarian Concern’

Farrell said he will deal with tenants of such illegally converted dwellings with a “spirit of humanitarian concern.” He said it is not the intent of the inspections to evict poor people who are struggling to find shelter.

He would like to take advantage of a council-approved ordinance that forces property owners to pay up to $5,000 to relocate tenants evicted from illegal dwellings because of hazardous conditions. That measure is awaiting Mayor Tom Bradley’s signature.