The absurdity of government eminent domain and affordable housing policies, all in one story

The government’s power to take private property for purportedly "public" good is vast, and leads to gross inefficiencies. Mix that in with govt's penchant for overpriced affordable housing boondoggles, and you get a perfect witches' brew.  Nextcity.org reports from the Southland.

A group of families who moved into vacant homes in the Los Angeles neighborhood of El Sereno at the beginning of the pandemic will be allowed to stay there legally while they search for permanent housing, according to a report in LAist. The group “Reclaiming Our Homes” took over a series of homes owned by CalTrans, the California Department of Transportation, according to the report. The homes were among more than 450 properties acquired by CalTrans decades ago as part of a since-abandoned plan to expand the interstate 710 freeway, the report says. Under a new agreement, CalTrans will lease some of the homes to the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) for at least three years for use as transitional housing, according to the story. Residents said that their decision to occupy 13 of the vacant homes was driven partly by the COVID-19 pandemic, and L.A.’s “Safer at Home” guidelines, the story says.

The “reclaimer” families will need to go through eligibility screenings and background checks, and will be provided with services to help them find permanent housing, according to the report. HACLA may rotate new residents into the homes if some of the current residents are able to find permanent housing, the report says. But the “Reclaiming Our Homes” group is asking for the homes to be used for permanent housing and put into a community land trust, according to the story.

“We want a more long-term plan, we don’t just want to be in transitional housing,” Escudero said, according to LAist. “Once you build community in a place, it’s really stressful and difficult to move around.”

California State Auditor Elaine Howle issued a report this week saying that the state has failed to create a comprehensive approach to addressing housing issues and has left $2.7 billion in potential housing funding on the table, according to a report in Bloomberg.

Read the whole thing: Housing in Brief: Vacant Homes Occupied by L.A. Families to Become Transitional Housing

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Photo by Steven Johnson.