Neighbors Alarmed as Koreatown Vacant Lot Becomes Sprawling Homeless Encampment
Residents cite safety, sanitation and fire risks as city officials say action is complicated because the land is privately owned
A vacant lot in Los Angeles’ Koreatown has grown into a sprawling homeless encampment that neighbors say now resembles a small informal “city,” complete with makeshift recreational areas and improvised power hookups, prompting concerns about public health and safety.
Residents said the encampment, on a privately owned parcel between Seventh and Eighth streets, includes tents and tarps, a garden, a barbecue pit and what neighbors described as a tennis court. Neighbors and local officials told ABC7 that people living on the site had pried open a streetlight, inserted a surge protector and run extension cords across the street to power the encampment, creating what residents called a fire and trip hazard.
Neighbors described growing unease about safety and sanitation. "The reason why people are sleeping here is because you leaders are sleeping on not taking initiative and action to clean this place up," resident Daniel King told ABC7. Max Smith called the site "a city in there," and Sangmin Lee said he had seen people wiring electricity from the tampered streetlight and worried about fires. Lee and others also cited reports of people approaching passersby and said an ABC7 crew was threatened during a recent visit.
City officials said their response has been slowed by the fact that the lot is privately owned. Los Angeles City Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky told ABC7 that enforcement requires a different, more convoluted process when encampments are on private property. The lot is owned by a limited liability company registered in Delaware that did not respond to requests for comment, according to local reporting.
The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety said it has issued an order to comply to the property owner, directing action to address security, rubbish, garbage, trash, debris and graffiti. Yaroslavsky said the owner has cooperated with officials and was expected to post "No Trespassing" signs on the fence, a step that would permit Los Angeles Police Department officers to intervene.
Public Works told ABC7 that crews planned to install an anti-vandal wrap around the streetlight that had been rigged to supply power to the encampment. Mayor Karen Bass’ office said outreach teams have been dispatched to the site to engage residents and offer housing options.
Advocates and service providers have for years emphasized outreach and housing placement as primary tools to address encampments, while city enforcement actions on private property typically require either the property owner’s authorization or legal processes such as posting trespass notices. City officials said the current actions — the compliance order to the owner, the planned signage and the electrical safety measures — are part of that process.
Neighbors said they want quicker action and clearer timelines for removal and remediation of the lot. Officials said the steps underway are intended to make the site safer and to connect people living there with housing resources, but they did not provide a public timetable for clearing the encampment or for further enforcement actions.
The Koreatown encampment highlights ongoing tensions in Los Angeles over how to address homelessness and public-health risks when encampments appear on privately owned land. City departments and elected officials face competing pressures to respond to immediate safety concerns while following legal and bureaucratic procedures that govern property rights and law-enforcement authority. The outcome on this lot may hinge on cooperation from the listed property owner and the completion of required municipal inspections and notices.
City officials and the property’s listed owners did not provide additional comment by publication time. Local residents said they will continue to press elected officials for faster action while outreach teams work to offer services to encampment residents.