Residents captured images of the May 1 fire that damaged the vacant house at 1744 Wilton Place, prompting the city to raze the building. (photo courtesy of Jennifer Martinez)

The city of Los Angeles demolished a vacant building in the 1700 block of North Wilton Place in Hollywood on May 1 that nearby residents said was a longstanding problem in the community.

The demolition occurred after a fire erupted in the house at 1744 Wilton Place shortly before 2 a.m. on May 1, causing significant damage to the structure. The blaze was the latest of approximately seven fires at the site since the start of April, residents said.

City officials claim they tried unsuccessfully over the past month to reach the owner, Lindon Shiao, to force him to comply with orders to secure the building and address issues. A hearing is scheduled at the next meeting of the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety Commissioners on May 27 to determine what steps will be taken next with the property, including whether it will potentially be declared a public nuisance due to continual problems at the site.

A representative for Los Angeles City Councilman Hugo-Soto Martinez, 13th District, said on April 6 that the councilman’s staff tried to contact Shiao multiple times, and finally reached him this week. Shiao has agreed to hire a private contractor to remove debris from the fire and building demolition. If he does not clear the site, the city will remove it and charge the owner.

Residents said the property at 1744 Wilton Place, and a second similar home next door at 1750 N. Wilton Place, have been vacant for weeks. The two buildings appear to be part of one property, but have different owners, according to the city. The owner of the building at 1750 N. Wilton Place is working with the city, has boarded the building and fenced the property, and has hired a security guard, Soto-Martinez’s spokesman Nick Barnes-Batista said. Soto-Martinez visited the site on May 4 and said he is prioritizing the efforts to ensure the property is safe.

“Neighbors shouldn’t have to pay the price for negligent property owners, and we’re looking into how the city can urgently step in to eliminate these types of public safety risks,” Soto-Martinez said.

Shiao, who was reached by phone on May 7, said the city’s claims that they could not reach him are false, adding that he has been in regular contact with an inspector from the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety. He said he is ready to remove debris from the site but is waiting for approval by the Air Quality Management District. Shiao also said he would have demolished the site months ago but faced hurdles with the city of Los Angeles in securing permits.

“It’s not me, as the property owner, who wants to hold this up. We are trying to do our part, we’re trying to build affordable housing,” Shiao said. “There are a lot of hurdles that impede the process of development in Los Angeles. Part of the issue is the bureaucratic process of getting permits.”

Shiao also said homelessness in the area is rampant. He has tried to keep the site fenced, but unhoused people find ways to get onto the property.

“I understand the frustration of the neighbors. We’ve been doing everything we can to keep it fenced. Every time we erect a fence, it’s breached an hour later,” Shiao said.

Residents near the property said the city and the developer are not doing enough to address the issues. Multiple vacant properties are located in the 1700 block of Wilton Place, attracting unhoused people and causing a public safety risk. Resident Jennifer Martinez, who was captured on video on May 4 urging Soto-Martinez to do more to address problems in the neighborhood, said the problems with unhoused people on the stretch of Wilton Place date back to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I was reiterating how the laws need to be fixed, just recognize that it is an issue,” Martinez said. “There’s a lot of problems here. They should go back and review their whole permit processing and really enforce more laws on property owners, because they’re pretty much doing whatever they can get away with.”

Jeff Newton, a North Gramercy Place resident who lives just east of the vacant properties, said he is fed up with inaction. He said he is considering filing a lawsuit over the situation.

“[The owner] put up this fence, which says nothing. I mean, I could climb over that myself at age 67,” Newton said. “The owner has stonewalled the city and actively interfered with efforts to secure it and get the squatters out. That’s intentional, not simply benign neglect.”

Wilton Place resident Carolita Blythe also said the larger problem is that it takes too long for the city to move projects through the permitting process, which results in properties staying vacant in neighborhoods for months.

“You can’t be waiting on a permit since June of last year, because what happens is the minute something is abandoned, the squatters go in. And who can blame them? It’s a roof over their head,” Blythe said. “We’re not the only ones dealing with this. They drag their feet. I don’t know what’s going on with the city, but when you’ve had repeated fires, how have you still not done anything? What is happening?”

A debris pile is located at the site of a formerly vacant house on Wilton Place. The city is working with the property owner to clear the site. (photo by Edwin Folven)