Police Sweeps Approved for Earthquake ‘Ghost Towns’ : Strategy: Damaged and vacant buildings will be emptied of squatters, boarded up and then patrolled by security guards.

Moving to eliminate dangerous quake ghost towns, a Los Angeles City Council committee Tuesday authorized police sweeps of the vacant quake-damaged buildings, to be followed by boarding up and patrolling by private security guards.

The get-tough strategy will begin with a blitz by city building inspectors on Monday to identify which buildings are public safety hazards. The approach was developed by a task force of city department heads, who have now identified 13 neighborhoods in the San Fernando Valley, Hollywood and Mid City areas where clusters of vacant buildings have become havens for squatters, vandals, scavengers and drug users.

The emergence of the so-called ghost towns, each with about 10 vacant apartment buildings or condominium projects, has left neighboring homeowners and merchants fearful that the blight and crime will spread--and in some cases they already are spreading--to adjacent communities.

“The vandals are coming into our units even though they are boarded up,” Pam Nelson, one of 20 townhouse owners at the El Dorado Townhomes in Sylmar, told the committee. She said only eight owners are willing to rebuild their units there. “We’re stuck and we need security and we can’t afford security.”

With about $240 million in local and federal emergency funds, the task force outlined a 120-day schedule for clearing out, securing and demolishing buildings in the ghost towns.

Some of the costs of sealing up the buildings might be passed on to property owners, particularly if federal money is not secured. But to encourage reconstruction where possible, funds also will be set aside for rebuilding loans to those who cannot secure loans elsewhere.

“The task force is hoping that within 120 days we will have a lot of rebuilding happening,” said Pat Bonino, a chief analyst for the city administrative officer.

Even as the Ad Hoc Committee on Earthquake Recovery approved the strategy on Tuesday, members said they remained frustrated that the city could not move faster to demolish problem buildings.

“If there is a danger to people, tear the damn things down,” said Councilman Hal Bernson, who heads the committee and has five ghost towns in his district. “Let’s get it done.”

The strategy would include the following steps:

* Beginning Monday, city inspectors will inspect buildings in ghost towns to identify structures that are a public safety hazard and are occupied by trespassers.

* Owners of buildings deemed hazardous will be sent notices giving them 10 days to clear out trespassers and board up and fence their property.

* If the owner of a hazardous building does not respond in that time period, police will clear it of trespassers, and crews will board and fence the property.

* Private security guards will be hired by the city for up to 120 days to protect those buildings where city officials believe there may be a continuing problem with trespassers.

While buildings are being boarded up, building and safety officials also will speed up the demolition process for structures determined to be public hazards. City officials say they can begin demolition within two weeks after a building has been identified as a hazard.

The city has already demolished 35 severely damaged buildings and is in the process of tearing down another 75, city officials said.

To pay for the security measures, Bonino said, the city can use $20 million provided by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and $99 million from a federal community development block grant.

Councilman Richard Alarcon, who requested the task force be formed, asked that the city also press the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reimburse the city for the costs, even though FEMA officials have previously indicated that the problem does not qualify for emergency funds.

“The communities are being torn apart,” he said.

If FEMA does not reimburse the city, Bonino said the city will put liens on the problem properties to force the building owners to pay for the costs.

For structures that can be rebuilt, housing officials will urge the Small Business Administration to give top priority to loan applications submitted by owners of ghost town buildings.

As a last resort, Bonino said the city has about $116 million in local and federal quake recovery and housing money that could be extended as loans to the property owners.