In a report released on Jan. 12, Los Angeles City Controller Ron Galperin identified 26 available properties owned by the city that could be used to house and serve people experiencing homelessness.

Galperin’s team examined and evaluated thousands of properties using specific criteria, such as size and current use. He said that, while Los Angeles is using a small portion of the land it owns to address homelessness, there are at least 26 additional properties that the city should explore using immediately.

Combined, the properties have the potential to provide 1.7 million square feet of space for interim housing (tiny home villages, safe parking or safe sleeping areas) or to support facilities such as restrooms, showers and laundry, Galperin said.

“Homelessness is an existential crisis for Los Angeles, and things have only gotten worse during the pandemic,” he added. “With tens of thousands of people sleeping on the streets nightly, the city must do more to alleviate homelessness by using the properties it owns. The status quo is unacceptable. My office took a fresh look at thousands of city properties and identified 26 that can be used right away for interim solutions. These properties are big enough, unused or vacant and could give shelter and services to thousands of unhoused Angelenos.”

Galperin has twice examined Prop. HHH, a 2016 bond measure that sought to construct up to 10,000 supportive homeless housing units. He said the billion-dollar program is failing to meet its goals, with just 1,100 units completed so far and per-unit costs reaching as high as $700,000.

U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter tasked the controller’s office in May 2021 with reviewing city-owned properties and determining which ones, if any, could be used for “housing and sheltering the homeless.”

His order was part of the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights case that accused the city and Los Angeles County of violating state and federal laws in their response to the homelessness crisis. Although Carter’s order was later vacated by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, Galperin continued the project.

Galperin reviewed approximately 8,000 city-owned properties listed in the database monitored by the city’s General Services Department. His team determined parcel sizes through a matching process with data from the L.A. County assessor and identified properties that met key criteria, including having a minimum lot size of 20,000 square feet and being designated as “vacant” in the database.

After following up with city departments to question them about each property on the list, the controller’s office conducted site visits to make basic observations about property conditions, resulting in the final list of 26.