Mayor Bass Addresses `Trash House' Impacting Fairfax Neighborhood
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A day after the city of Los Angeles began cleaning up a Fairfax residence, dubbed the "trash house" by neighbors, Mayor Karen Bass Thursday called the situation a "health emergency."
"One thing that was crystal clear to me was that we were going to move immediately," Bass said at an appearance at the home located on Martel Avenue. "I don't care what the process was -- to me this was a public health emergency and we needed to respond."
She said cleanup will take another day or two before the garbage is completely removed.
KNX News reported Tuesday that nearby residents have called on the city to take action and address garbage piled high in the front yard. The L.A. Department of Building and Safety responded Wednesday at noon, declaring the property an "imminent health and safety hazard."
A representative for Bass said that afternoon that this declaration gave city crews the authority to immediately remediate the hazard. She thanked city workers for working around the clock to clean up the property.
The owner of the home is a 70-year-old man, according to reports, and neighbors have said this isn't the first time they've had this kind of trouble.
In 2014, the city of L.A. filed citations against the man, ordering him to clean up the yard. While the front yard was kept clean, garbage continued to pile up in the backyard and the garage.
"I just have to say that I'm just so concerned about the gentleman that lived in this situation," Bass said. "Obviously, we are just dealing with the outside, but we did have the county Department of Mental Health here yesterday." She said DMH is expected to return Thursday.
The mayor confirmed the man has family, and city personnel will be talking to county officials to find a solution and care for the homeowner.
"This is not a normal situation," Bass said. "This didn't happen overnight. This happened over a series of months, and from what I am learning about this from the neighborhood, is that they've been dealing with this off and on for years."
Bass added, "This has got to stop."