Councilwoman Rodriguez Leads Effort to Improve Enforcement Tools and Accelerate
Removal of Hazardous Conditions
LOS ANGELES, CA – The Los Angeles City Council today adopted important ordinance
amendments led by Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez to strengthen the City’s authority to abate
nuisance, hazardous, and substandard properties, improve coordination between City
departments, and accelerate timelines for correcting dangerous conditions that impact
neighborhoods and public safety. Councilwoman Rodriguez’s remarks can be viewed here.
Councilwoman Rodriguez’s initial motion was introduced in October 2024 following lessons
learned during the City’s efforts to address a longstanding nuisance property in La Tuna Canyon.
The amended ordinance updates key provisions of the Los Angeles Municipal Code governing
nuisance abatement and provides clearer authority for the City to address dangerous conditions
when property owners fail to comply.
“Communities should not be forced to live next to properties that threaten public safety, create
health hazards, and diminish neighborhood quality of life,” said Councilwoman Monica
Rodriguez. “This ordinance gives the City stronger tools to hold property owners accountable,
remove dangerous conditions more quickly, and ensure that nuisance properties do not remain
unresolved for years while neighborhoods bear the consequences.”
BACKGROUND:
In October 2024, Councilwoman Rodriguez introduced a motion directing the City Attorney, with
assistance from the Department of Building and Safety, to develop amendments to Divisions 89
and 90 of the Los Angeles Municipal Code governing nuisance, hazardous, and substandard
properties. The motion was informed by lessons learned during the City’s efforts to abate a
longstanding nuisance property in La Tuna Canyon and sought to clarify enforcement authority,
strengthen interdepartmental coordination, and improve timelines for corrective action.
The amended ordinance accelerates the timeline to commence abatement from 30 days to 15
days and shortens the completion timeline from 90 days to 45 days. It clarifies the City’s
authority to address nuisance conditions throughout a property, authorizes the use of other City
departments, government agencies, and contractors to perform abatement work, strengthens
the City’s ability to recover associated costs, and establishes a process for properties that
continue to operate in violation of Planning Department enforcement actions to be declared
public nuisances and abated, including demolition when warranted.