LA is clearing a homeless encampment that has long been plagued by crime, drug use
Residents of the North Hollywood neighborhood were inspired Thursday when sanitation workers showed up to clean up a vacant lot they say has long housed a homeless encampment that attracts crime and drug use.
Neighbors said that the camp has made it unsafe to walk in the area and they have been complaining to the police and the city for a long time about taking drugs, shootings and other crimes that are said to be happening in the area. They say people are known to walk around with guns in the neighborhood.
Los Angeles City Councilman Adrin Nazarian, whose district includes North Hollywood, took to Instagram to say the camp has been threatening residents of the area for years.
J. J. Azizian waves to a neighbor as workers from the Los Angeles Department of Sanitation remove trash from a homeless area near his home.
(David Butow / For The Times)
“It’s been in a bad state and not working,” he said. “There were reports of guns, people walking down the street with guns, drugs that you can still find today, a lot of drug use.”
The councilor could not be reached for comment on Thursday.
The property is located near Tujunga Wash in the 7000 block of Varna Avenue, north of Saticoy Street. It is surrounded by a chain-link fence and sits across from a row of two-story stucco houses.
The Nazarene and the residents say that the house once lived in the area, but it burned down. Property records show the owners listed the property for sale in June 2023 but the listing was removed the following month.
Since then, residents say the site has deteriorated into a yard littered with rubbish – including scraps of metal, wood and broken outdoor furniture. There was also a trailer in the area.
Robert Baindourov, who lives across the street, told KTLA-TV that people used drugs in front of his house.
“This area has been used by drug runners to facilitate all kinds of dumping, to steal large vehicles,” he told the station. “There have been incidents of shootings and excessive deaths. It has always been a nuisance, it hurts me.”
Large items are being removed from a homeless camp in North Hollywood.
(David Butow / For The Times)
It’s not clear why it took years to address problems at the property, but in June 2025 the owners, identified in city records as Guadalupe Castrellon and Sofia Carillo, were notified by the city of its intention to declare the property a public nuisance.
The owners were not immediately available for comment Thursday.
Nazarian’s office said the Los Angeles City Council approved the announcement last month. Then, last week, the Los Angeles Board of Public Works also took up the issue, paving the way for Thursday’s cleanup.
“For a long time, this nuisance has plagued the neighboring community with gang activity, open drug use, and other security concerns,” he said in an Instagram post. “I’m proud that we’ve taken a big step to restore our community’s quality of life. This is also a message to all vacant property owners – take care of your business or we’ll send you a bill.”
Speaking to Public Works board members at their April 10 meeting, Nazarian said there have been 28 calls for work at the site since 2023: 18 from residents and 10 from the Los Angeles Police Department. The calls, he said, were for assaults, reports of firearms, gang activity and drug use.
“When you look out your window and see the debris and the things going on in this area it’s shocking,” Nazarian told board members.
One neighbor who attended the meeting told the board that the man who lives in the refrigerator has been walking up and down the bathroom with what looks like an AR-15 and a pipe in his mouth, pointing the gun at the houses.
“Please close it,” pleaded the resident.
Nazarian said the property owner will be charged for cleaning and cleaning the property.
