Listen up folks, it’s time to talk about how cars and RVs in sunny California are getting ready for summer heat after a super chilly winter. But let’s not ignore the juicy gossip about the empty houses in the area. Turns out, the state’s highway authority bought them decades ago to make way for an expansion that never happened. Oops, talk about failed transportation policies turned failed housing policies. Now it’s a big ol’ mess that even ex-mayor Richard Schneider can’t quite figure out. But hey, at least it’s a potent symbol of California’s inability to solve a housing crisis. That’s something, right?
Governor Gavin Newsom is doing his best to increase the supply of homes by 2.5 million by 2030. But let’s face it, bureaucracy and community opposition are like kryptonite to him. Just look at these 115 houses scattered along a five-mile stretch that the highway authority purchased in the 50s and 60s using eminent domain. But then politics shifted, and freeway construction got the boot. Whoops-a-daisy!
Some activists took matter into their own hands during the pandemic and became “reclaimers” of the houses, illegally taking up residence. Think of them as squatters but without the negative connotations, of course. Marsha Garcia, a single mom who lost her job during the pandemic, even made her empty house a true home with plants and aphorisms like “Bless this home and all who enter.” And can you blame her? She’s already dealing with chronic health issues due to COVID-19.
Unfortunately, time’s up for these “reclaimers,” and eviction proceedings have begun. It’s a nightmare for everyone involved, from the homeless people camping out to the angry residents who are tired of seeing the houses fall apart. Caltrans, the highway authority, even spent $23 million on security to prevent people from busting into the empty homes. We’re talking about vacant, uninhabitable homes with various health and safety issues. Oh, the irony.
This isn’t just a story about the hassle of bureaucracy, folks. It’s also about three cities with their own housing stock and political issues to manage. But they all have one thing in common: houses sitting vacant in the midst of a housing crisis. It’s so bad that new Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass declared a state of emergency on homelessness on her first day in office. And Newsom’s administration is suing cities that don’t meet his demands to produce affordable housing.
All that being said, the real issue is the dozen “reclaimers” facing eviction in the coming months. It’s a secondary politics concern. It’s their fragile hold on the roofs over their heads that worries them. Can you blame them? Losing your home during a pandemic with no end in sight is downright scary. And while Caltrans tries to sell off the properties, litigation is still ongoing over what purchase price should apply. It’s like getting lost in a labyrinth and nobody knows the way out.
At the end of the day, this isn’t just a housing issue. It’s a problem with multifamily properties, environmental preservation, and plain old-fashioned bureaucracy. It’s so complicated that even Richard Green from the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate is stumped. But he does have a point that it would’ve been great to put some dense housing in the areas. Still, who wants to deal with neighbors who would howl over the issue? It’s a complicated mess, that’s for sure.
Serious News: washingtonpost
