L.A. Pushes Group Homes, Tarzana Homeowners Push Back

The Tarzana Property Owners Association held a town hall forum Tuesday night to address the growing problem of boarding houses in single-family neighborhoods.

Homeowners demanded to know why the city is allowing group homes for parolees and recovering addicts to proliferate in their communities, and why zoning administrators are declaring massive four-story eldercare facilities to be "compatible" with the character of neighborhoods made up of single-family homes.

Alan Bell, Deputy Director of the L.A. CIty Planning Department, told the group of about 300 local residents that Fair Housing laws prevent discrimination against unrelated individuals living together. The definition of a family has changed, he said. In addition, state law permits single-family homes to house six or fewer individuals receiving care from a licensed provider, even if city zoning prohibits it.

Residents said the group homes pose a threat to their neighborhoods, and officials confirmed that there was reason for concern.

Bill Larsen of the City Attorney's office said he has observed a "donut" of crime around group homes housing parolees. An uptick in car break-ins and residential burglaries, charted on a map, surround the group home like a donut, he said.

Larsen said his office will file charges against group homes if it can be proved that seven or more people are living there. In one particularly egregious case, Larsen was tipped by a parolee in a group home who complained that the overcrowding there was worse than in prison. One hundred and thirty people were living in one single-family house. "It was confirmed by the county probation office," Larsen said.

Frank Bush, chief of the Department of Building and Safety's code enforcement bureau, said his office is understaffed but will follow up on all complaints about illegal group homes. Residents who have information are asked to call 311 or file a complaint online at www.ladbs.org, and to include information about the day of the week and time of day that the overcrowding was observed. "Our inspectors have to see it," he said. "We have to be able to prove it."

Panelists also discussed the city's pending Community Care Facilities Ordinance. City Councilman Mitchell Englander is expected to convene a working group to develop regulations and "enforceable distinctions" that will allow prosecutors to shut down some group homes without disturbing others.

Another issue on residents' minds was the effort by developers to build huge eldercare facilities in residential neighborhoods. Homeowner Irene Boyd said an eldercare community planned for the Sherwood Forest area of Northridge would include 140 units in a 83,000-square-foot building on two acres of land.

City Councilman Dennis Zine, who introduced the panelists and spoke briefly before leaving for another engagement, warned the audience that the time will come when they will not want to live in a four-bedroom house with a pool, and they will appreciate the availability of eldercare housing.

Residents were skeptical. By a show of hands, no one in the room wanted to spend their final years in a 500-square-foot room with no kitchen.

Tarzana Property Owners Association president David Garfinkle said his research indicates that the supply of eldercare housing may be overbuilt, given that the $5,000-$6,000 monthly fee is out of reach for many retirees.