Residents of a North Hollywood neighborhood breathed a sigh of relief Thursday when city sanitation crews arrived to clean up a vacant lot they said had long been home to a homeless encampment that attracted crime and drug use.
Neighbors said the encampment has made it unsafe to walk in the area and they have long complained to police and the city about drug overdoses, shootings and other alleged crimes on the property. He says people are known to walk around with firearms in the neighborhood.
Los Angeles City Council member Adrien Nazarian, whose district includes North Hollywood, said on Instagram that the encampment has been a danger to area residents for years.
JJ Azizian waved to a neighbor as Los Angeles Sanitation Department workers were clearing debris from a homeless camp near his home.
(David Butow/For The Times)
“It continues to be in disrepair and derelict conditions,” he said. “There were individuals walking around the street with firearms, assault rifles, drug paraphernalia that you can still find today, a lot of drug use was reported.”
The councilman could not immediately be reached for additional comment Thursday.
The property is near Tujunga Wash in the 7000 block of Verna Avenue, just north of Saticoy Street. It is surrounded by a chain-link fence and faces a row of two-story stucco houses.
Nazarian and residents said there was once a house on the property, 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, area residents say the site has turned into a junkyard filled with trash – including scrap metal, wood and pieces of broken outdoor furniture. There was also a trailer on the property.
Robert Bandorov, who lives at the front of the property, told KTLA-TV That people have consumed intoxicants in front of his house.
“This property has been used by drug traffickers to facilitate all types of thefts, grand theft auto,” he told the station. “There have been several shootings and overdose deaths. It’s been a constant nuisance, a thorn in my side.”
Large items were removed from a homeless camp in North Hollywood.
(David Butow/For The Times)
It is not clear why it took years to address the property issues, but the owners were identified in June 2025 City records as Guadalupe Castrellan and Sofia CarrilloThe city was notified of its intention to declare the property a public nuisance.
The owners could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday.
Nazarian’s office said the Los Angeles City Council approved the declaration 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 too long, this public nuisance has plagued the neighboring community with gang activity, open-air drug use, and other safety concerns,” he said in an Instagram post. “I’m proud that we’ve taken a big step toward restoring the quality of life to our community. It’s also a message to all owners of vacant properties – take care of your business or we’ll send you a bill.”
Speaking to Board of Public Works members during an April 10 meeting, Nazarian said there have been 28 calls for service on the property since 2023: 18 by residents and 10 from the Los Angeles Police Department. The calls were for reports involving assaults, firearms, gang-related activity and drug use, he said.
“When you look right out your window and you see the debris and the activity on this site it’s horrific,” Nazarian told board members.
A neighbor who attended the meeting told the board that a man who lived at the location was walking up and down the area with an AR-15 and a crack pipe in his mouth pointing a rifle at the homes.
“Please, turn it off,” the resident pleaded.
Nazarian said the property owner will be billed for land clearance and cleanup.
