A burned-out, abandoned house on West Bassett Street in Valley Glen has officially been declared a public nuisance after an 18-month stretch during which neighbors say they lived alongside squatters, fire debris, drug use and discarded needles. Before the declaration, the city had issued two orders compelling the owner to remove fire debris and address an unsanitary pool, and the matter had escalated to a criminal complaint against the owner. The Los Angeles Board of Building and Safety Commissioners voted unanimously on Tuesday to designate the property at 13455 W. Bassett St. a nuisance, a step that forces the owner to clean up and demolish the structure or have the city do it and bill them instead.
The home was destroyed by fire in April 2025, according to NBC Los Angeles, and was red-tagged and left entirely unsecured afterward. The home has 2,062 square feet. The property received its first code violation in April 2025, per Nazarian's office, and the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety went on to issue two separate orders compelling the owner to remove fire debris and address an unsanitary pool. Both deadlines passed without compliance, and the matter escalated to a criminal complaint against the owner this year.
Councilman Says Residents Shouldn't Bear the Cost of Owner Neglect
Los Angeles City Councilmember Adrin Nazarian, who represents the area, told commissioners that neighbors had endured squatters, fire debris, drug use, discarded needles, trash and criminal activity at the site for more than 18 months. He urged the board to issue the nuisance declaration to give the community relief.
“I refuse to leave our residents to deal with the consequences of owners who have allowed their properties to deteriorate for far too long,” Nazarian said, adding that the milestone concerns residents' quality of life and neighborhood safety, the station reported.
Valley Glen resident Tina Houston said the unsecured, abandoned property made the neighborhood feel unsafe, describing it as an eyesore littered with overgrown vegetation, trash and needles scattered across the ground. She thanked the Valley Glen Neighborhood Council and Nazarian's office for their advocacy in pushing the case forward, per the same NBC4 account, which aired a report from reporter Alex Rozier at 3 p.m. Tuesday.
A Second North Hollywood Property Hits the Same List
The same commission meeting also declared a second San Fernando Valley property, at 10926 Hartsook St. in North Hollywood, a public nuisance. That site has a vacant structure marked by extensive dilapidation, accumulated debris and hazardous materials, overgrown vegetation, squatters and severe sanitation issues, according to MyNewsLA.com.
Records cited by Nazarian's office show the Hartsook Street owner has a history of regional non-compliance, having previously had other holdings on nearby Otsego Street declared public nuisances as well — suggesting the same landlord has repeatedly let properties decay across the district.
What Happens If the Owner Still Doesn't Act
Under Los Angeles Municipal Code Sections 91.8903 and 91.8906, if a property owner fails to comply with a nuisance abatement order, the Department of Building and Safety can perform the demolition or cleanup itself using the city's Repair and Demolition Fund, then recover those costs by placing a lien on the property, according to the American Legal Publishing Code Library. Non-compliant owners can also face civil fines of up to $1,000 per day along with potential criminal filings, per research from The Dusty Archive, which has studied the city's enforcement gaps.
That same research notes that Los Angeles code enforcement operates primarily on a complaint-driven basis through 311 calls rather than proactive patrol inspections. The Dusty Archive discusses “demolition by neglect,” describing unsecured buildings deteriorating and noting that action begins with notification.
A Citywide Push to Tackle More Than 100 Neglected Properties
The Bassett Street case lands amid a broader legislative effort from Nazarian's office. A motion approved by the Los Angeles City Council on October 20 directs multiple municipal agencies to report back within 30 days on a citywide abatement program targeting more than 100 priority vacant and nuisance properties identified by inspectors, according to filings with the City Clerk of Los Angeles. The proposal, carried under Council File 26-1280, aims to identify, prioritize, secure, clean, repair or demolish the city's most dangerous vacant and nuisance properties.
The push for faster action isn't limited to the council. In September, Mayor Karen Bass urged the City Council to restore $2 million in fiscal year 2026–2027 budget funding earmarked for city crews to clean and secure vacant nuisance properties across Los Angeles, according to the Office of Mayor Karen Bass, after the council had removed that line item during earlier budget adjustments.
Part of a Recurring Pattern in Council District 2
The Bassett Street and Hartsook Street declarations follow a pattern Hoodline has tracked across the district: in April, Nazarian intervened at a long-vacant lot on Varna Avenue in North Hollywood that had generated 28 service calls since 2023. Valley Glen itself, formally recognized as an independent neighborhood in June 1998 after splitting from Van Nuys and North Hollywood, now has more than 50,000 residents, over 60 percent of whom are renters living alongside the area's aging post-WWII housing stock.
For now, the nuisance declaration means the clock is running on the Bassett Street owner to act. If they don't, the city says it will carry out the cleanup and demolition itself and bill the owner, placing a lien on the property if payment isn't made.
