The Week in Land Law - Hyperion sewage spill, LA’s anti-camping ordinance, and LA County Assessor begs you not to appeal your tax assessment.
This week we talk about the Hyperion sewage spill, LA’s anti-camping ordinance, and the LA County Assessor’s plea to get you to shut up and accept your excessive tax assessment.
Legislation
The Los Angeles City Council passed an ordinance amending LAMC section 41.18, aimed to prohibit camping in specified areas and public rights of way, including near homeless shelters and services facilities, tunnels, under- and overpasses, bridges, freeway ramps, railways, washes, spreading grounds, daycares, schools, public parks and libraries. Mayor Garcetti signed the ordinance on July 29. An earlier version of LAMC 41.18 had been suspended following a 2006 court injunction. More on this here.
Several controversial housing bills, including SB 6, SB 9 and SB 10, are still pending and expected to go to a floor vote in the Assembly in August.
Other News
The Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant, which treats wastewater before releasing it into the ocean, released 17 million gallons of raw sewage into the ocean on July 11 and July 12. The spill continues to impact nearby beaches and especially the residents of El Segundo. The Hyperion plant, owned and operated by the City of LA, takes up approximately one mile of beachfront real estate and separates El Segundo from the ocean. Los Angeles Sanitation and Environment offered reimbursement to El Segundo residents impacted by the spill, including reimbursements for hotel stays and air conditioning. A report by Citygate Associates reveals a number of failures on the part of the City and County of LA, for which LA County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer has apologized.
Los Angeles County Tax Assessor Jeffrey Prang is begging you not to appeal your tax assessment. This follows media reports last week about the $1.76 trillion valuation of LA County property by the assessor in 2021. In an interview with the LA Times, Prang suggests that the “deluge” of appeals his office has received recently are “dubious” and although legal, he would like to call them a scam. Having appealed my own assessment after LA County assessed our home, sight unseen, for $300,000 over what was actually paid in an arms length transaction, I am a staunch supporter of fighting back against unreasonable and unlawful assessments. The process was eye opening to say the least.
