By Mary O’KEEFE

One of the issues facing many cities and towns is abandoned buildings and houses. The media has shared stories of abandoned mansions in Los Angeles where people have moved in and thrown parties. And then there is the Oceanwide Plaza building. 

This building in downtown LA is a stalled development that had originally been intended as a Park Hyatt Hotel. Unfortunately the developers in Beijing had financial issues and abandoned the partially built structure leaving it as the perfect place for graffiti tags and murals. 

But it is not just large buildings in LA that are prone to abandonment and vandalism; no area is excluded from abandoned homes and businesses. These structures quickly become a place for individuals to occupy and in many cases it is very difficult to get those people out of the property. 

There are houses in La Crescenta that have been left empty that are now occupied by “squatters,” people who occupy a property without the owner’s permission. 

“A lot of these homes in [local] neighborhoods are generating several calls for service. They are being brought to our attention,” said Sgt. Barajas, Glendale Police Dept. spokesman. 

GPD has yellow-tagged some of these houses in Glendale, which allows officers to arrest people for trespassing. 

Police are called and they do what they can but once a person establishes residency it becomes a difficult process for homeowners to get those squatters out of their property. 

The first thing to do if someone finds a squatter at their property is call law enforcement. The police will determine if they are trespassers or squatters. If the property has a yellow tag, officers can remove the person as a trespasser because the property is considered damaged and its habitability is limited. 

If officers determine the people on the property are squatters the property owner then must serve the occupants with a Notice to Quit giving them a specific time to vacate. If they still do not leave then it is time to find a lawyer, and it still may require law enforcement to resolve the issue. 

But it’s not just houses that are abandoned in areas like Glendale and Tujunga; business properties are also targeted. Barajas said abandoned businesses in Glendale are not typically seen but in Tujunga there are some businesses that have closed down. They have become a place for unhoused individuals.

One building that has been a concern for residents is the former Crow’s Nest Sports Grille on Foothill Boulevard. Los Angeles police had sent the owner of the building a trespass letter, which is an order that once signed by the owner of the property allows officers to arrest people for trespassing. 

The owner did put a fence around the building but that didn’t deter some from getting into the property. There had been a transient-on-transient stabbing at the location and there have been concerns from residents about fires started there and about other abandoned properties. 

Barajas said if neighbors, or property owners, notice anything unusual at houses or businesses they should contact law enforcement.