To help address the crisis of homelessness, five years ago, I led the effort to create the “Sunflower” Cabin Community in Tarzana with the help of the non-profit Hope the Mission (Hope). Wedged on Metro property on Reseda Blvd and Oxnard, we were able to open 74 ‘cabins’ with beds, AC, and heat, along with services to help people on our local streets have an opportunity to turn their lives around. Since 2021, we have continued this effort by converting hotels, opening new permanent and affordable housing and other types of housing and services to resolve the biggest continuous crisis our city has faced. While it was always meant to be a temporary site, I’m informing our community that by the end of 2026, the Sunflower cabins will close and the lot will return to Metro.
Importantly, current Tarzana clients will not be forced onto the streets. We are working with Hope and other non-profits to ensure that every person continues to have a roof over their heads, with services provided. To quickly help people transition to sustainable and permanent housing, additional investments have been made in housing resources such as rental subsidies, affordable housing units and shared-housing.
It is no secret that this site had its share of issues. While some clients were caught in drug offenses and petty theft, compared to other Cabin Communities, it also had a lower transition rate to permanent housing. One of the biggest obstacles this site faced was that in order to continue operating, it would have required hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to install new ramps and infrastructure changes that proved to be extremely difficult to do on land that the city did not own. Over the last few years, I tried to make it a sober site, but due to state and federal rules, this designation would take years at best and cost more to the taxpayers.
Our goal is to have this site closed by next summer and the demobilization will occur in two-phases. The first phase prioritizes the residents, providing robust case management, and enhanced behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment services, to ensure the successful transition of each individual. The second phase relies on our construction workforce to dismantle and remove the units from the site.
While this temporary site is closing, I want to take a moment to celebrate the success stories this site has had and thank Hope. At the beginning of the COVID crisis, thanks to proceedings before Judge David O. Carter who has overseen the ‘LA Alliance’ case that has been heavily reported on in the media, we were able to get access to County funds to build these sites but we had to act fast.
Since the opening of the Tarzana Cabins in the summer of 2021, we have helped hundreds of people experiencing homelessness find shelter and pathways out of homelessness. Lives have been transformed, with the help of Hope and from the surrounding community to provide a space for people as they transition off the streets.
I am grateful for the partnership of Hope and the residents of Tarzana for being part of the solution to homelessness. It is through these efforts that we have seen a decrease in street homelessness in the Valley and have helped the lives of hundreds. And due to the successful efforts of the last few years in partnering with non-profits and building more housing, we have the ability to close these doors and open others to prevent folks returning to street homelessness.
I also want to thank the amazing neighbors who joined my Cabin Community Advisory group and helped advocate for improvements throughout the last few years. We welcomed a group of people who initially challenged the project to be part of this effort alongside supporters because I wanted to hear directly from the neighbors most impacted. I kept my promise to meet regularly with the community and committee and to work hand in glove with neighbors on mitigating impacts throughout the entire life of the project.
While more details are currently being finalized, my staff and I will continue to update our community as this process continues. Please never hesitate to reach out to me and my team at c03.foryou@lacity.org for more information on this or any other city-related issue.