VA plans to appeal judge’s decision to build housing on West LA campus

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs said it plans to appeal a federal judge’s decision ordering the department to foot the bill for construction of emergency veterans housing on its West LA campus.

The department’s attorney, Brad Rosenberg, said in court Friday that the appeal will be filed next week. Some will argue that the payment would cause irreparable damage to the VA’s finances.

But U.S. District Judge David O. Carter said construction should continue for now.

“We’re going to continue until we get permission from the Ninth Circuit,” he said, adding that he wanted to do a quick study to bring veterans inside before the rainy season.

On September 6, Carter decided to file a lawsuit on behalf of disabled veterans and issued two emergency orders to expedite the creation of temporary “modular” housing (essentially tiny homes built ahead of time in factories) on campus.

Carter continued to pressure officials to speed up the timeline for temporary housing. Kelly Farrell of the Gensler architecture firm, which worked on the housing plans, said they are still narrowing down the details of utilities to meet housing standards.

Carter stepped back.

“We can go to the showers by truck. We can go to the toilets by truck. We can take sewage water from the land, you don’t need to dig ditches,” he said. “There’s already lighting in the stadium, for God’s sake. I don’t want perfect – I want good.”

Background of the case

Carter has ordered the creation of 2,550 additional housing units for homeless veterans on the expansive West LA Veterans Affairs campus, including the construction of 750 transitional homes with supportive services within 18 months and an additional 1,500 permanent homes with services on campus over the next six years. .

The judge also ruled against a number of private leases on the West L.A. campus, writing that VA officials “are prohibited from entering into and maintaining any land use agreements, including those defined in this Order, that do not substantially benefit veterans and their families.” ”

It also barred the VA from entering into new leases with the private Brentwood School (athletic facilities are on campus), Safety Park (which operates two parking lots on campus), Bridgeland Resources (which has an oil rig on campus). and UCLA (the baseball stadium is on the property).

The lawsuit was filed in November 2022. The lawsuit comes after the VA fell years behind schedule in 2020. following a previous settlement agreement Building more housing on campus starting in 2015.

What Judge Carter said

VA officials bowed to wealthy neighbors: Noting that VA officials entered into lucrative land deals for a portion of the property, Carter wrote: “Instead of serving veterans, the West LA VA served its wealthy and powerful neighbors, bowed to special interests backed by lobbyists, and engaged in backroom deals and fraud.”

A contrast with the financing of the war: Carter, a Marine Corps veteran who was badly wounded in a Vietnam War battle put in a body bagHe said the federal government had failed those who served: “Veterans have seen the government quickly use its resources to send them into combat, then claim they can’t overcome funding gaps and administrative hurdles when they need shelter and shelter at home.”

The judge drew attention to corruption: “Over the past fifty years, the West LA VA has been subject to bribery, corruption, and the influence of the powerful and their lobbyists, enabling the exclusion of veterans’ views of their homeland through a large educational institution,” the judge wrote. .

Among other things, he stated: scandal in which a private parking operator pleaded guilty to bribing a VA official and stealing $13 million In connection with a lease agreement on campus.

Failed promises: Carter accused the current and two previous presidential administrations of failing to follow through on promises to end veteran homelessness. He wrote: “In the years since 2011, the Obama administration, the Trump administration, and the Biden administration have promised to act quickly to eliminate veteran homelessness in America. But today, nearly 3,000 homeless veterans live in the Los Angeles area alone.”

What the parties said

Plaintiffs’ response: Mark Rosenbaum, the plaintiffs’ lead attorney, told LAist that the decision was a “tremendous victory” for homeless veterans. He said the judge said with his ruling that “no veteran who served this country should be on the streets of Los Angeles or, frankly, on the streets of this nation.”

“This is the end of legacy homelessness,” Rosenbaum added.

VA’s response: VA officials had no comment on the decision but said in a statement that they “will continue to do everything we can to end Veteran homelessness.” The statement made by the press secretary of National VA Secretary Denis McDonough included figures showing a 23% decrease in veteran homelessness in Los Angeles from 2023 to 2024.

“VA is committed to providing permanent supportive housing to homeless Veterans on the West LA Campus grounds as quickly as possible,” the statement said.