Why Add to the Housing Shortage?
Eighteen months ago the Los Angeles City Council, confronted with a rising problem of abandoned homes serving as crack houses, passed an ordinance allowing the city to demolish uninhabitable properties without delay. That prompted Mayor Bradley to launch Operation Knockdown, which took dead aim at derelict buildings that served as havens for drug users and street gangs. While the goal of the program--to rid orderly neighborhoods of dangerous nuisances-was well-intentioned, the policy has been applied too broadly.
During the last year, according to Times writer Jill Stewart, Operation Knockdown has resulted, directly or indirectly, in the loss of more than 215 houses. More than 50 houses, primarily in the poor neighborhoods of South-Central Los Angeles, were bulldozed by the city. And more than 150 houses were leveled with the consent of the owners, who, lacking either the will or the money to make substantial repairs, paid for the demolition to get rid of their problem.
Despite all the good intentions, this scorched-earth policy comes at the wrong time. The region faces a severe housing crisis. Public policy should encourage housing preservation, not demolition.
Demolition is warranted only in extreme situations. The ordinance targets crack houses, but the city is also bulldozing ramshackle, unsecured and rat-infested houses in need of major repair. Some of that housing--including abandoned houses where homeless people congregate--should be salvaged.
In response to The Times article, Mayor Bradley, in a letter to the editor published today, has instructed the Department of Building and Safety to “take extra steps” to make absolutely certain that any candidate for demolition is utterly and hopelessly beyond repair. He has also directed the city to provide information on housing rehabilitation grants to owners who want to save their houses. And the mayor has instructed the city’s new housing coordinator, Michael Bodaken, to conduct a complete review of Operation Knockdown, as well as to make new proposals for constructing affordable housing on city-owned vacant lots.
The mayor’s moves are most welcome. So would be a temporary halt to all bulldozing. Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky has proposed one for 60 days. Good idea. A moratorium would give the city time to come up with some answers to such questions as: What is the impact of Operation Knockdown on affordable housing and homelessness? What are the alternatives? Housing should be torn down only as a last resort.
