PLUM directs Building and Safety to pursue options for inactive construction sites and nuisance enforcement

The Planning and Land Use Management Committee voted unanimously to adopt recommendations that ask the Department of Building and Safety (LADBS) to develop new tools to identify and address prolonged predevelopment and inactive construction sites that pose public safety and nuisance risks.

The motion, initiated by Councilmember Hernandez and discussed on the record, directs LADBS to pursue five recommendations: create a reporting category on LADBS’s website for prolonged predevelopment or inactive sites; report on the feasibility of requiring site security and financial accountability mechanisms such as insurance or bonds; work with LAPD on trespass/authorization procedures for enforcement tied to permits (limited to extensions as amended); develop an interdepartmental reporting system with LAPD and Fire; and proactively contact owners, applicants and developers of nuisance sites to expedite completion.

Why it matters: Several committee members and downtown stakeholders described repeated trespassing, dumping and fires at inactive or partially completed sites. Members said the city needs faster tools to identify chronic problem sites and, where necessary, use enforcement or financial instruments to secure and remediate hazards.

LADBS description of enforcement thresholds: Devin Myrick of LADBS said the department is working with the City Attorney to define a code‑based definition of “work” and a process for identifying inactivity. Under current code LADBS monitors inspection and permit activity; LADBS staff told the committee that a site that goes 180 days without requesting a required inspection would be treated as potentially inactive and triaged for investigation. Myrick described a multi‑step approach: community reporting into a new web category, LADBS review of inspection history, site visit, and then enforcement steps (orders to comply, permit renewal procedures or demands to restore the site). If owners fail to comply, LADBS may escalate to the City Attorney for fines and further action.

Council members emphasized limiting unintended impacts on typical construction. Committee members and LADBS staff agreed the policy should target sites shown to be inactive and causing nuisance; LADBS does not intend routine six‑month inspections for all active projects. Councilmember Paul Lee asked how the department would prevent bad actors from repeatedly requesting minimal inspections to keep permits alive; LADBS replied that inspection results must show tangible progress (approvals or corrections) to maintain permit validity and that permits in practice expire after two years without sufficient activity.

Security and bonds: LADBS and several council members warned that mandating security or bonding for all projects would raise development costs and could chill housing production. The committee limited the scope of staff work on bonds/security to a feasibility analysis targeted at nuisance or extension cases rather than a blanket requirement for all new construction.

Votes and next steps: The committee adopted the recommendations as amended, directing LADBS to report back with options and procedures for identifying inactive sites, feasibility of bonds/security targeted to problematic sites (not a blanket mandate), and a proposal to coordinate notification and trespass authorization with LAPD for permit extensions. The clerk recorded a unanimous 5‑0 vote to adopt the directive.

Sources: Committee meeting transcript; remarks by Devin Myrick, Department of Building and Safety.