Poor housing conditions continue at L.A. apartment complex, despite 2,000 citations by police in 5 years
By: Jason Volken and Rachel Swan
Source: KABC
An L.A. police squad car drives through the complex where the police department has cited the developer several times over violations that have gone unresolved for decades. (Photo courtesy of the KABC)
Asking neighbors for permits or even inspecting the property themselves were far from enough for the Los Angeles Police Department to get anything done at the former L.A. City Hall.
A two-month investigation by the police department revealed that despite decades-long citations and attempts by city officials to negotiate with the developer, property issues have still not been remedied.
This despite the almost 2,000 citations issued between 2007 and 2014 by the Los Angeles Police Department for unpermitted development at the former City Hall in Los Angeles, home to a former state assembly district. The former City Hall, located at 621 S. Grand Ave., is in the City of Angels, on the corner of S. Central and Grand Streets in the Arts District.
The investigation, which began in the fall of 2015, found police were asked to do far more than inspect the property for code violations.
“They wanted us to have a permit to go in and inspect the property,” said Lt. Richard Lee, who is the chief officer of the LAPD’s Community Relations Bureau.
Lee said police were asked to “have someone from city hall” go door-to-door to meet with neighbors.
“I think one of the things we did was to reach out to police department housing personnel in case this was something they had concerns about. We’d give them the case numbers and they would go out and do a survey,” Lee said.
But the police reports from those surveys came back saying the property was up to code, according to Lee.
Still, the issue still persisted at the former City Hall property.
An investigation into the property that began in the fall of 2015 revealed that despite decades-long citations and attempts by the Los Angeles City Council to make adjustments to the property for property owners,
