From Upzoned to Up In Flames

In Los Angeles, it's a tale as old as time.

Developer buys existing affordable housing.

Developer demolishes said housing for a new project.

Project catches on fire before it is completed.

The under-construction TOC apartment building was to have been 100 percent affordable (13 units total). But, in a particularly cruel plot twist, the fire spread to two neighboring homes and displaced a minimum of ten people when the unfinished building burned.

When a comparatively tall building catches on fire, it rains embers and flaming debris on its closest neighbors in a way that shorter buildings can't. It took 120 firefighters to extinguish the blaze, which LAFD categorized as a Major Emergency.

Now, I can understand why developers generally don't want to spend money on security for their under-construction projects. It takes a long time to construct a new building, get everything inspected and approved, and get the certificate of occupancy, and paying security guards is going to eat into the bottom line.

The problem is, unguarded projects are at a higher risk of fire, which in this case displaced neighbors in addition to wiping out the progress on the building.

Not only is this nothing new in LA, it's not even the first time this has happened on Vernon Avenue. A similarly upzoned tower under construction caught on fire earlier this year. That fire injured two people and made FIVE buildings uninhabitable.

At what point do we hold property owners and developers accountable for these fires? When will enough be enough?

217 E. Vernon Avenue, South Central.