Residents of a North Hollywood neighborhood breathed a sigh of relief Thursday as city sanitation crews showed up to clean a vacant lot they say has long been overrun by a homeless encampment that attracted crime and drug use.
Neighbors said the encampment has made it unsafe to walk in the area and they have long complained to the police and the city about drug overdoses, shootings and other alleged crimes at the property. They say people have been known to walk around with firearms in the neighborhood.
Los Angeles City Councilmember Adrin Nazarian, whose district includes North Hollywood, took to Instagram to say that the encampment has been a threat to area residents for years.
“It’s been in continuous disrepair and derelict circumstances,” he said. “There were reported firearms, individuals walking out onto the street with assault rifles, drug paraphernalia that you can even find today, a lot of drug use.”
The councilman could not immediately be reached for additional comment Thursday.
The property is along the Tujunga Wash in the 7000 block of Varna Avenue, just north of Saticoy Street. It is surrounded by a chain-link fence and sits across from a row of two-story stucco homes.
Nazarian and residents said a home once sat on the property, but burned down. Property records show the owners listed the property for sale in June 2023 but that the listing was removed the following month.
Since then, residents in the area say the lot has deteriorated into a junkyard filled with trash — including scraps of metal, wood and broken outdoor furniture. There was also a trailer on the property.
Robert Baindourov, who lives across from the property, told KTLA-TV that people have used drugs in front of his home.
“This property has been used by drug runners to facilitate all kinds of larceny, grand theft auto,” he told the station. “There have been multiple shootings and overdose deaths. It’s been a constant nuisance, a thorn in my side.”
It’s unclear why it took years to address the issues at the property, but in June 2025 the owners, identified in city records as Guadalupe Castrellon and Sofia Carillo, were notified by the city about its intention to declare the property a public nuisance.
The owners could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday.
Nazarian’s office said the Los Angeles City Council approved the declaration last month. Then, last week, the Los Angeles Board of Public Works also took up the matter, paving the way for Thursday’s cleanup.
“For too long, this public nuisance has plagued the neighboring community with gang activities, open-air drug use, and other safety concerns,” he said in an Instagram post. “I’m proud that we have taken a major step toward restoring our community’s quality of life. This is also a message to all owners of vacant properties — take care of your business or we will send you the bill.”
Speaking to Public Works board members during their April 10 meeting, Nazarian said there have been 28 calls for service at the property since 2023: 18 by residents and 10 from the Los Angeles Police Department. The calls, he said, were for assaults, reports involving firearms, gang-related activities and drug use.
“When you look just outside of your window and you see the debris and the activity at this site it’s horrifying,” Nazarian told board members.
One neighbor who attended the meeting told the board that a man who lived at the lot had been walking up and down the wash with what appeared to be an AR-15 and a crack pipe in his mouth, pointing the rifle at the homes.
“Please, shut it down,” the resident urged.
Nazarian said the property owner will be billed for clearing and cleaning the lot.
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