Activists Issue Demands For Vacant Caltrans Houses

A group that included people removed from vacant homes owned by Caltrans just prior to Thanksgiving has issued a list of demands, including one that calls for turning over control of empty houses owned by the state transit agency to the community.

Last week, California Highway Patrol officers ordered activists from the group Reclaiming Our Homes to leave Caltrans homes they occupied in El Sereno since March.

United Caltrans Tenants, a group consisting of Pasadena, South Pasadena and El Sereno residents, called on the state to put all Caltrans properties in El Sereno under community control.

That group is calling on Caltrans to give to elders the homes they’ve been living in, some for more than 40 years; agree on a viable and affordable pathway to homeownership for all Caltrans tenants; transfer all remaining empty and “reclaimed” properties to the El Sereno Community Land Trust; guarantee no evictions and or displacements; and agree to a timeline to meet the demands.

“Originally purchased for the 710 Freeway extension that will never be built, these homes should be declared surplus and sold immediately, as required by law,” the group states.

The group did not state what would happen if its demands are not met.

Poor Landlords

Nearly 500 homes in Pasadena, South Pasadena and the Los Angeles neighborhood of El Sereno were seized by Caltrans through eminent domain in the early 1960s to make way for an extension of the 710 Freeway to connect with the 210 Foothill Freeway.

“Caltrans should have thought about handing that property over and figuring out a community trust and a tenant’s trust and a tenant’s co-op a long time ago,” said local housing advocate Allison Henry.

Many of the homes are dilapidated and have fallen into disrepair.

The California state auditor found that between July 2007 and December 2011 Caltrans, which did not verify the eligibility of tenants to be charged below-market-rate rents, collected $12.8 million in rent but lost $22 million due to underpayment by ineligible tenants.

During most of that period, Caltrans reportedly paid out another $22.5 million for questionable repairs and spent an average of $6.4 million per year on property repairs, but could not demonstrate that repairs for 18 of the 30 projects reviewed by auditors were reasonable or even necessary.

Six months after the audit’s release, Caltrans began increasing rents by 10 percent every six months, until people were paying market-value rents on the homes.

The rent increases have left some families unable to afford the homes they were living in.

Local residents have opposed the freeway extension for years, many since its inception.

More Hurdles

In 2012, after the surface option for the freeway extension was taken off the table, the L.A. County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) and Caltrans officials announced they wanted to build either a six-lane highway along portions of West Pasadena or a 6.3-mile tunnel from the end of the 710 Freeway in Alhambra to Pasadena, but those ideas were also eventually nixed.

In September 2016, Caltrans announced its intention to finally sell the homes starting with 42 properties going up for sale in 2017. Caltrans announced the agency would retain an easement to the property underneath the homes.

The homes are currently being sold under three phases. Phase 1 included the sale of 42 homes and 11 vacant lots that were not within the scope of the remaining project alternatives. In Phase 2, Caltrans will make a decision to sell some of the other properties that fall within the scope of the proposed project. Remaining properties deemed as surplus after the project is either built or formally denied will be sold as part of Phase 3.

In 2019, Caltrans officials announced they would work with Pasadena to relinquish the 710 Freeway stub to the city for development following the demise of the 710 Freeway extension. A feasibility study is underway, but it remained unclear what the future of the plot of land may look like.

While no official specific proposals are on the table, city and state officials have been working to clear the first hurdle in putting to use the plot north of California Boulevard.

“Caltrans has been working closely with the city of Pasadena regarding the repurposing of the 710 stub,” according to Caltrans District 7 spokesman Eric Menjivar.

“I want people to start asking the question of why do we value property over people?” Henry said. “We’re starting to criminalize people trying to eke out a living in any way they can and they, and when they go to the wild places, it’s a danger there too. Why do we tolerate vacant, abandoned properties when people are sleeping outside?”