The US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has extended its stay on a judge's order to build housing at a VA facility in West Los Angeles, setting an expedited April hearing on an appeal by the US Department of Veterans Affairs.
The order issued Monday night ends U.S. District Judge David O. Carter's aggressively pursued goal of having up to 200 temporary housing units open by early next year.
The VA appealed in October Carter's order to build hundreds of temporary and permanent housing units at the agency, saying it would cause “irreparable harm” by forcing the agency to divert money — up to $1 billion for all housing — from priorities. services for veterans.
In the weeks since he issued his decision, Carter has not persuaded VA officials and veteran housing experts for plaintiffs to quickly produce standard units in the parking lot of UCLA's Jackie Robinson stadium and other vacant parcels on campus.
Following Carter's repeated admonitions to “do it,” the plaintiffs' experts, Steve Soboroff and Randy Johnson, the developers of Playa Vista, had met with the global construction firm Gensler to make plans that they said could be realized by the spring.
Under pressure from the judge, VA officials said they would pay a lower cost for the temporary units and work with Soboroff and Johnson to identify sites and provide resource maps.
But in the meantime, the government applied. An emergency session of the appeals court on Nov. 8. halted the purchase of modular units and blocked engineer access to the VA building.
Carter's orders stem from a lawsuit filed on behalf of veterans who alleged the VA failed in its duty to provide housing on campus for disabled and homeless veterans and illegally leased portions of UCLA's 388-acre campus to the Brentwood School. and several other outside interests.
After a four-week trial in August, Carter ordered the VA to produce 1,800 supportive housing units on campus and 750 temporary housing units. His decision also voided leases for VA buildings, including UCLA and the Brentwood School, and ordered the VA to increase its public service staff. He then canceled that number of temporary units, while issuing an emergency order to immediately build up to 200, including 32 in the parking lot of UCLA's Jackie Robinson baseball stadium.
Plaintiffs' attorney Mark Rosenbaum of the Pro Bono Public Counsel firm said he appreciates the expedited process but not the government's stance.
“The government's act of seeking housing, citing a lack of resources, belies their commitment to ending homelessness immediately,” Rosenbaum said.
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