The Department of Veterans Affairs campus in west Los Angeles is 388 acres that a charity bequeathed to the VA in the 1880s for the specific purpose of housing war veterans. The VA in 2024 is seeking to block a court ruling requiring the agency to fast-track housing development for veterans on the site. (Stars and Stripes)
WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs is fighting a federal court order to open 100 shelter beds by January and develop another 750 apartment units by 2026 for homeless veterans in Los Angeles.
Citing budget constraints, the VA has an emergency motion before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to delay the start of construction of a much larger project for addressing veteran homelessness in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.
The VA is seeking to block a lower court ruling requiring it to cancel lucrative commercial leases at a Los Angeles campus that it owns and fast track development of up to 1,800 units of permanent housing by 2030.
The VA stated in written arguments Friday that budget constraints prevent it from moving forward with the court-ordered master plan for the site’s development. The installation of 100 units of modular housing for $15 million was temporarily halted pending the appeals court decision.
The VA argued it will have to reduce veterans services in other ways to comply with the court order.
“The court exceeded its legal authority, and its orders would prevent VA from fulfilling our mission to end veteran homelessness by diverting critical resources from efforts that are proven to get veterans off the streets and save lives,” VA spokesman Terrence Hayes said Tuesday.
“If the VA was serious about ending veterans homelessness, then building temporary housing to get veterans off the street is a no-brainer, and they need to get it done,” said Rob Reynolds, an Army veteran who works as an advocate for homeless veterans represented in the lawsuit. Reynolds served as an infantryman with the 10th Mountain Division from 2006-2010 and deployed to Iraq in 2007.
A decision could come as early as this week, after both sides filed final briefs last week, according to Public Counsel Law Center of Los Angeles, which is representing homeless and disabled veterans in the class-action lawsuit.
“Homelessness is lethal, and for those who survive, has devastating repercussions including exacerbation of existing disabilities and health conditions and exposure to violence and other victimization,” attorneys for the veterans said in court documents.
The attorneys argued the judge’s order for 100 shelter beds to be created within 90 days of the court decision and 750 apartment units by 2026 addresses an urgent situation for veterans housing without disrupting VA operations.
Ten percent of the nation’s homeless veterans are in greater Los Angeles, according to the 2023 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count report.
District Court Judge David Carter ordered the VA to follow a specific timeline for housing development on the 388-acre site located in an affluent suburb of west Los Angeles. He appointed a special master to oversee a schedule for development.
Carter also ordered the VA to terminate its leases at the site with several businesses because they do not primarily service veterans. He had ruled in the class-action case that the VA failed to comply with an agreement to develop its Los Angeles campus with housing for disabled homeless veterans. His ruling was described as a landmark victory for Los Angeles veterans and their advocates.
The ruling ordered the VA to develop 750 emergency shelter beds on the campus at a cost of about $100 million, according to court documents.
“Without temporary supportive housing, countless veterans may die on the streets or in shelters while waiting for permanent housing to be built,” Carter wrote.
An estimated 3,500 veterans living in the Los Angeles metro area could be impacted by the outcome of the legal battle, according to court documents.
The VA has owned the property since the late 1800s, when a charity bequeathed the land as an “old soldiers’ home” for the specific purpose of housing war veterans.
There are now 307 units of housing on the property, which are fully occupied and “in constant demand,” according to court documents.
The West Los Angeles VA Medical Center is located within a short distance from the campus, which is in Brentwood. Without housing near the hospital, many low-income veterans will be denied access to health care, according to court documents.
The VA has failed to fulfill its commitment to provide housing on the grounds, violating the terms of the deed transfer in 1888, according to the attorneys representing the veterans.
The original lawsuit was filed in November 2022, after the VA fell behind on a previous settlement to develop housing on the site.
