PPTFH Discusses Strategies to Use City-Owned Properties for Housing, Services

By LILY TINOCO | Reporter

The Pacific Palisades Task Force on Homelessness invited Los Angeles City Controller Ron Galperin to its latest community meeting on Monday, May 23, to discuss the possibility of using city-owned sites for interim housing or shelter.

PPTFH Co-President Sharon Browning said Galperin caught the team’s attention when he identified 26 underutilized city-owned properties that could potentially be used for homeless housing or shelter.

Since becoming city controller, Galperin said his priorities have been transparency, trust and transformation. On the topic of homelessness, Galperin said this is an issue that has plagued the nation—but described LA as the “capital of homelessness.”

“While the city of LA makes up just 1.2% of the entire U.S. population, we are many times over that number, in terms of those who are unhoused,” he said. “A recent report from the LA County Department of Public Health on mortality among those experiencing homelessness showed a 56% increase over the previous year, with 2,000 people dying on our streets—overwhelmingly, tragically, as a result of drug overdoses.

“In a so-called civilized society, and a society in which we have so many resources and abilities and smart people in Los Angeles, it’s inexcusable.”

He went on to discuss the mayor’s budget through 2023, with a proposal of $1.16 billion for homelessness and housing services—an increase of about $361 million. It includes $415 million for Proposition HHH, which is meant to provide up to 10,000 permanent supportive housing units, $255 million for a second round of Project Homekey, $55 million in one-time funding for gaps in homeless services, additional allocations for money to Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, as well as homeless housing assistance in the amount of $92 million, that includes hygiene facilities, homeless roadmap operations and more.

“We’re spending record amounts of money, but not necessarily with vastly better results,” Galperin explained. “This, what I laid out, is just what the city is spending. Let’s consider also that LAHSA has a budget that is approaching $900 million in the coming year, and of course, you have … monies that are being spent by the county in billions of dollars … and then there is state money, as well.

“That’s why I believe that the role that I play as a controller is crucial in looking at many of these programs, and looking at what are the results that we are actually getting? Government often is very good at looking at inputs, meaning how much we’re spending, not necessarily at outputs in terms of what results we are getting from it.”

To assist in seeking housing, Galperin and his technology and innovation team created a Property Panel where they mapped every property owned by every jurisdiction within the city of LA—14,000 individual properties.

“Even if we use just a fraction of these, I believe that there’s a lot of good that we can do,” he said.

He said he looks for properties that are flat, at least 25,000 square feet, vacant and can be put into use immediately. Currently, 26 properties have been identified. He said he has mapped every project, mapped what their components of costs are and has different recommendations to speed up the process and get them completed.

Combined, these properties have the potential to provide 1.7 million square feet of space for interim housing or support facilities.

“We need to approach this with much greater urgency and much greater clarity of purpose, to be much more nimble in terms of the approach being taken by both the city and the county,” Galperin said. “The status quo … is totally, utterly unacceptable and the very future of our city, and of our communities, is at risk if we don’t make significant progress in the near term.”

PPTFH invited community members to attend its next meeting, slated for July 25 at 7 p.m.