A federal judge ordered the Department of Veterans Affairs to immediately develop a plan to build nearly 2,000 new supportive housing units for veterans on its 388-acre campus in West Los Angeles.
Judge David O. Carter’s ruling on Friday, Sept. 6, was a major victory for a group of veterans who sued the VA over the use, or lack thereof, of the massive campus. They sued over a number of different aspects of how the VA utilizes the space, which was gifted to it in 1888. The plaintiffs, many of whom are experiencing homelessness themselves, argued that the VA was not building enough housing on the available space, while the VA fought back, saying it was building enough under a previous agreement and leasing out other parcels on the campus was providing revenue for services.
Judge Carter disagreed with the VA. He ordered the VA to build 750 temporary housing units in the next 12-18 months to provide immediate shelter. Additionally, Carter requires that the department construct 1,800 more permanent housing units on the VA campus. The decision came after a three-week non jury trial.
“Each administration since 2011 has been warned — by the VA’s own Office of the Inspector General, federal courts, and veterans — that they were not doing enough to house veterans in Los Angeles,” Carter wrote in his decision. “Despite these warnings, the VA has not made good on its promise to build housing for veterans.”
The Department of Veterans Affairs previously agreed to a master plan to build 1,200 new housing units, the result of a previous lawsuit, but only 233 are open now. The decision in this new suit gives the VA six months to develop a new plan for the additional 1,800 units and a town center for veterans living on the campus. The VA’s plan must have all of the new housing and supportive facilities finished and open within six years.
More than 3,000 veterans are experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles County, out of 75,312 total unhoused people, according to the county’s annual point-in-time count. The majority are unsheltered. The City and County of Los Angeles, working with private developers, are currently building several permanent supportive housing projects, separate from any effort the federal government is making in West Los Angeles.
Subscribe to Task & Purpose Today. Get the latest military news and culture in your inbox daily.
Carter also ruled in his decision that current leases of campus space to entities including the University of California, Los Angeles and oil drillers are illegal. The leases for the oil drilling and a parking lot were immediately voided. The exact exit strategy for those spaces currently being used by UCLA and the Brentwood School will be determined in later hearings.
The ruling comes after earlier partial decisions by Carter. In May he said that the VA’s policy of counting disability compensation towards income — which as a result pushes many homeless veterans out of eligibility for federal housing assistance — was discriminatory. Last month the VA and HUD announced it was doing away with that policy. In his ruling, Carter noted that the two federal departments pointed to the new policy changes as a sign that they were making improvements, but said those only happened after the lawsuit went forward.
“Now, the West LA VA promises they finally have a plan that will end veteran homelessness in Los Angeles — but only if the plaintiffs leave them alone and the Court does not issue an injunction,” Carter wrote. “After years of broken promises, corruption, and neglect, it is no surprise that veterans are unwilling to take them at their word.”
The 80-year-old judge — himself a veteran who served during the Vietnam War — took lawyers and members of the press on a hike around the large campus on Aug. 21, personally inspecting the site.
The campus previously had been lined by tent encampments, predominantly belong to veterans. “Veterans Row” was cleared in 2021, partly with the promise from the VA to provide shelter and housing inside the 388-acre site. Some temporary tiny home shelters were put up, but they have been plagued by issues and are not permanent housing. Other veterans were simply displaced, moving to other parts of the city.
The latest on Task & Purpose
- Hawaii soldier earns rare triple tab: Ranger, Sapper, Jungle
- ‘I want to be an infantryman,’ says man who joined the Army at 39
- New Tinker Air Force Base motto immediately lampooned by airmen, veterans
- Army Chinook takes flight with ‘FUKIRAN’ call sign
- Navy fires captain of USS John S. McCain for “loss of confidence”