The Los Angeles City Council voted 13-0 to place 621 South Union Avenue into the city's REAP program after city inspectors and the property's owners gave conflicting accounts about whether required repairs were finished.

The decision came after a public hearing in which Michael Tanya, speaking for the Schaeffer family, said the owners had completed the repairs listed on the original REAP notice of violation. "The simple fact is that the original REAP notice of compliance has been completed," Tanya told the council. Developers and contractors at the hearing said the building had been improved despite plans to gut and convert it to senior housing under a separate purchase agreement.

The matter matters to tenants and to the nonprofit planning to buy the building. Ollie McCauley of the Community Partnership Development Corporation told the council the nonprofit is under escrow to buy the building and had secured federal funds to renovate it. "We have been given a federal grant for $44,500,000.0 to purchase this building, to gut it, and redo it for senior housing," McCauley said, adding that the group had a relocation plan and estimated roughly 66 tenants would be relocated. Contractor Chuck Eberly, hired by the owners, also told the council he believed the work required by the initial inspection had been completed.

Housing department staff and the program manager for REAP disputed the owners' account. Shari Dahimi, manager of the REAP program, told the council the ordinance underlying REAP targets life-threatening, imminent conditions and that the city’s process has a high success rate for resolving such risks. Dahimi said staff's most recent inspection showed the property was not yet fully complete and that a final inspection could be scheduled if the owners request sign-off. She said the ordinance has a "98 percent success rate." Councilmember Hernandez, who recommended REAP placement, said the department's inspections had found tenants living in "uninhabitable conditions" and that two winters had passed without heaters in place.

Council members pressed housing staff on the procedure for leaving REAP if the owners complete the required work. Housing staff said the owner could request a final inspection and, if staff signs off, the property would be recommended for removal from REAP.

The council approved the housing department's recommendation to place the property into REAP, 13-0. No dollar penalties or abatement costs were discussed on the council floor; the vote accepts the housing department's report and directs REAP process steps.

The council's action does not itself block the nonprofit's escrow or HUD review. Representatives of the nonprofit said they were awaiting federal approval of their plans and a relocation schedule for tenants.

What happens next: Housing staff said they would re-inspect the property upon notification from the owner and could recommend removal from REAP if the work is verified complete. Tenants and other parties interested in the inspection outcome were advised during the hearing to contact the housing department for a final inspection request.