Letters to the Editor: After the fires, we need to talk about L.A.’s absentee landowners

To the editor: I live in Pasadena but thankfully wasn’t in an evacuation zone. However, since last week I’ve been getting requests to rent or even buy my house, from both friends and strangers. People are desperate for housing. (“Fire victims compete to find new homes as real estate market rages in Pacific Palisades, Altadena,” Jan. 11)

Meanwhile, houses stand vacant on my street. One newly constructed house on my block was purchased by someone who lives in another country and hasn’t set foot there. Another is a house a neighbor inherited and is holding on to for financial reasons without living in it or renting it out. He stops by once a month to cut back the weeds.

Several more in the area are owned by Caltrans, part of a purchase from when the 710 Freeway was supposed to go through here. They have sat vacant for years.

I believe we need to build more affordable housing, but what about all the existing housing that’s unused? What policy can we put into place to discourage owners of second homes from letting their properties sit vacant? How can we move the state along to get those 710 Freeway houses inhabited?

Rebecca Tuynman, Pasadena

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To the editor: Los Angeles should take the unfinished Oceanwide Plaza skyscrapers in downtown L.A. off the market. Partner with the county to finish the project and create a community land trust.

Pitkin County, Colo., set a successful precedent. In the 1980s, lack of affordable housing for lift operators, teachers and first responders threatened the Aspen resorts. Pitkin County began building, and now more than 3,200 people live in these affordable homes.

Completing Oceanwide Plaza should take less time than building thousands of individual homes and apartments. It’s a rare opportunity to create an inclusive, mixed-income district with permanently affordable condos and apartments. Market-rate penthouses and larger units can offset project costs.

Not everyone displaced by fire will want to live downtown. But L.A. needs more housing, and many will find the views and location near transit quite desirable. An area-wide shuffle would free up units in other neighborhoods.

Ginger Wireman, Richland, Wash.