The Los Angeles Post

Hahn Wants County to Consider Purchasing Tax-Defaulted Properties Ahead of Auction

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Children play in Nogales Park

Children play in Nogales Park, previously a vacant lot in unincorporated Walnut Park.

Los Angeles, CA – At today’s meeting of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Supervisor Janice Hahn requested a review of 1,569 tax-defaulted properties ahead of their online auction set for this April for opportunities for the County to purchase lots for the good of the surrounding communities.

“We should always be looking for opportunities to better serve our communities and before these properties go to auction, our departments should check to see whether there are empty lots that could be used for pocket parks or dog runs, or whether there are buildings we could use for supportive housing or mental health treatment,” said Supervisor Janice Hahn.

The 1,569 tax-defaulted properties include residential and commercial property including vacant lots. The Treasurer Tax Collector will put these properties up for sale in an online auction beginning April 19, 2025 and ending April 22, 2025.

Today, Hahn offered an amendment which was unanimously approved directing the Treasure Tax Collector, in coordination with the CEO Homeless Initiative, the Department of Parks & Recreation, the Department of Mental Health, the Los Angeles County Development Agency, and Los Angeles Homeless Services Agency (LAHSA), in consultation with the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency (LACAHSA) to report back to the Board in 45 days with a review of the tax-defaulted properties and recommendations for their potential purchase and use as, pocket parks, interim housing, mental health beds, access centers, or for the development of affordable housing.

During her time in office, Supervisor Hahn has focused on using vacant and underutilized county property to better serve her communities.  In San Pedro, she transformed a vacant county office building into a 40-bed shelter for people experiencing homelessness.  In Walnut Park, the Department of Parks and Recreation turned a long-vacant lot into a pocket park called Nogales Park.