The Brief

Many who lost homes in the Eaton and Palisades fires have been asking themselves whether they should rebuild or if it’s time to pull up stakes.

For some, rebuilding may be too costly, too time-consuming, too heartbreaking.

But if they sell — to whom? No shortage of developers are swooping in to buy properties. In Altadena, that’s stirred up concerns over whether the community will retain its socioeconomic diversity or a Black homeownership rate that at 81% was nearly double the national average.

Sell to a nonprofit

One nonprofit says sellers have other options.

This month, Greenline Housing Foundation in Pasadena made what’s believed to be the first Eaton Fire lot purchase by a community organization: a 6,800-plus sq. foot parcel on West Altadena Drive.

“We bought the property at $520,000, completely demolished and with a lot of debris on it,” said Greenline’s founder and president Jasmin Shupper.

Shupper said after seeing the listing, she had reached out to the seller’s agent, expressing interest in submitting an offer.

Shupper made her case to the agent: “Here's our mission. We're trying to keep land off the speculative market. We're trying to avoid mass purchases by developers who might not be community- minded.”

“And so we just started the conversation from there,” Shupper said. “And then he said, ‘Let me talk to my seller.’”

It was a smooth transaction that Shupper hopes to be a forerunner to future purchases in Greenline's bid to do more land banking for the social good.

Greenline’s start

Shupper founded Greenline five years ago to help remedy decades of racial housing discrimination by offering financial education and down payment grants.

Jasmin Shupper founded Greenline Housing Foundation in Pasadena.

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Courtesy Greenline Housing Foundation

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“It would only follow that we would show up consistent with our same mission in the Eaton fire recovery," Shupper said. “Specifically, that means home ownership preservation and wealth restoration to the Black and Brown communities.”

Greenline wants to rebuild on the burned-out property and sell it at a below-market price to a first-time homebuyer. Shupper said its mission seemed to resonate with the seller who had already been thinking about selling their house before the fires.

In February, the property was listed at $425,000 — covered in rubble. Still, Greenline came in nearly $100,000 over asking.

“We wanted to come in a little bit higher, to be competitive, and also to ensure that it wasn't a lowball offer and that people were compensated fairly,” Shupper said.

A partnership

Greenline was able to make the purchase because of a half million dollar grant from the Pasadena Community Foundation.

“We all want to keep Altadena in friendly hands,” said Sarah Hilbert, a spokesperson for the Pasadena foundation and an Altadena resident. “I think that's a paramount goal for all of us who are connected to the community.”

There’s a sense of urgency to act. Dozens of parcels have already been sold since the Eaton Fire. And dozens more are on the market.

The arrival of developers has sparked anxiety about real estate speculation.

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Mario Tama

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“Lots of those housing parcels are being sold for cash only, and we know that a lot of them are being sold to speculative developers,” Hilbert said. “When that happens, we know that erodes the ability of people who have roots in the community to have a say and a role in that recovery, in that rebuild.”

Hilbert noted that in recent years gentrification has sped up in Altadena.

“It's a desirable place because it is so creative and so diverse and [there's] the beautiful natural setting,” Hilbert said. “So we know that those are the forces that we're kind of racing against the clock.”

Hilbert says the Pasadena foundation recognizes what Greenline wants to do by "land banking" is an important way to keep Altadena in community control and continues to be in conversation with Shupper about future partnerships. In the meantime, the Pasadena foundation is helping fund another Greenline initiative to get Altadena homeowners into interim housing until they can start to rebuild.

All hands on deck 

When time is of the essence, how can a nonprofit like Greenline bank more land while competing with all-cash buyers?

“You're kind of swimming against a flood, you know?” said Jon Christensen, who teaches and conducts research at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability.

Christensen says it will take multiple approaches – and more than philanthropy to protect Altadena from speculative developers.

“There are also investors who are not looking for the biggest profit [who say] 'I want investments to have some positive social impact,” Christensen said.

Christensen says these types of investors could help those who lost their homes stay in Altadena — by putting in, say, 20% of the capital needed to rebuild "with the expectation that [the investor] could get [their] capital out with some reasonable return that wouldn't be burdening the homeowner."

Next step: the build

Christensen says as outsiders come into Altadena to help, gaining the community’s trust will be key. That’s where a local organization like Greenline has an advantage.

And because of its work in the area, founder Jasmin Shupper knows of many potential buyers for its newly-acquired parcel.

“We already have a Rolodex of people that would be interested in purchasing this lot,” Shupper said. “Identifying people is not the problem.”

The more pressing issue at hand is what can Greenline afford to have built on the lot. That will depend on yet another round of funding the group is trying to raise.

In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena and Pasadena’s music community have really shown up to support fire survivors, especially fellow musicians who lost instruments and record collections.

That effort continues this weekend with a special donation concert at a Pasadena record store, with the aim of getting vinyl records back in the hands of survivors who lost their collections.

“You know, our name is Healing Force of the Universe, and I think that gives me a pretty clear direction… especially after the fires,” said Austin Manuel, founder of Pasadena record store, where Sunday’s show will be held.

The record donation effort is the brainchild of musician Brandon Jay, who founded the nonprofit Altadena Musicians after losing his home and almost all of his family’s instruments in the Eaton Fire. Through Altadena Musicians’s donation and registry platform, Jay said he and his partners have helped some 1,200 fire survivors get their music instruments back.

Brandon Jay.

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Robert Garrova

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LAist

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Now, that effort has fanned out to restoring vinyl record collections.

“All of that stuff evaporated for thousands of people,” Jay said. “Look at your own record collection and be like, ‘Wow, what if that whole thing disappeared?’”

You might know Jay from several bands over the years, including Lutefisk, a 1990s alt-rock band based in Los Angeles. He and his wife, Gwendolyn Sanford, composed music for TV shows, including Orange is the New Black and Weeds.

Jay plans to play some holiday tunes at Sunday's record donation show (which LAist is the media sponsor), along with fellow musician Daniel Brummel of Sanglorians. Brummel, who was also a founding member of Pasadena’s indie-rock sensation Ozma, said he was grateful to Jay for his fire recovery work and to Manuel for making Healing Force available for shows like this.

Brummel, who came close to losing his own home in the Eaton Fire, recalled a show he played at Healing Force back in March.

Ryen Slegr (left) and Daniel Brummel perform with their band, Ozma, on the 2014 Weezer Cruise.

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Even Keel Imagery

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“The trauma of the fires was still really fresh,” Brummel said. After playing a cover of Rufus Wainwright’s “Going to a Town,” that night — which includes the lyrics “I’m going to a town that has already been burnt down” — Brummel said his neighbors in the audience told him the rendition hit them hard. “It felt really powerful. And without that space, it just wouldn’t have occurred.”

Details

Healing Force of the Universe Record Donation Show
Featuring: Quasar (aka Brandon Jay), Sanglorians (Daniel Brummel) and The Acrylic.
Sunday, Dec. 14; 2 to 5 p.m.
1200 E. Walnut St., Pasadena
Tickets are $15 or you can donate 5 or more records at the door. More info here.

Topline:

The case: In September, the city settled a lawsuit brought forward by two brothers in their 70s who said they suffered serious injuries after an LAPD officer crashed into their car. Days before the $18 million settlement was reached, lawyers for the brothers said Feldstein Soto called an expert witness testifying for the plaintiffs and “attempted to ingratiate herself with him and asked him to make a contribution to her political campaign,” according to a sworn declaration to the court by the plaintiffs’ attorney, Robert Glassman.

The response: Feldstein Soto did not respond to an interview request. Her spokesperson said the settlement “had nothing to do” with the expert witness. Her campaign manager told LAist the city attorney had been making a routine fundraising call and did not know the person had a role in the case, nor that there were pending requests for her office to pay him fees.

What Jurado says: In a statement to LAist, Jurado said she wants to “make sure that the city’s legal leadership is guided by integrity and accountability, especially when their choices affect public trust, civic rights and the city’s limited resources."

What’s next: The motion needs to go through a few committees before reaching the full City Council. If it passes, the motion calls for the city attorney to “report to council in closed session within 45 days regarding the ethics breach violation and give updates to the City Council."

Every year in Santa Ana, Luis Cantabrana turns the front of his home into an elaborate altar in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe that draws hundreds of visitors.

Along the front of the house, the multi-colored altar is filled with lights, flowers and a stained-glass tapestry behind a sculpture of the Lady of Guadalupe. Cantabrana’s roof also is lit up with the green, white and red lights that spell out “Virgen de Guadalupe” and a cross.

Visitors are welcomed with music and the smell of roses as they celebrate the saint, but this year’s gathering comes after a dark year for immigrant communities.

Luis Cantabrana stands in front of the stunning altar he built in front of his home in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe. Every year, his display draws hundreds of visitors.

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Destiny Torres

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Why do they celebrate? 

In 1513, the Virgin Mary appeared before St. Juan Diego between Dec. 9 and Dec. 12, asking him to build a church in her honor. Her image — a brown-skinned woman wearing a green veil with her hands together in prayer and an angel at her feet — miraculously appeared on his cloak.

To celebrate in Santa Ana, worshippers gathered late-night Wednesday and in the very early hours Dec. 12 to pray the rosary, sing hymns and celebrate the saint.

Cantabrana has hosted worshippers at his home for 27 years — 17 in Santa Ana.

The altar started out small, he said, and over the years, he added a fabric background, more lights and flowers (lots and lots of flowers).

“It started with me making a promise to la Virgen de Guadalupe that while I had life and a home to build an altar, that I would do it,” Cantabrana said. “Everything you see in photos and videos is pretty, but when you come and see it live, it's more than pretty. It's beautiful.”

The Santa Ana home's elaborate altar in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe draws hundreds of visitors each year.

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Destiny Torres

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LAist

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Gathering in a time of turmoil 

Many also look to the Lady of Guadalupe for protection, especially at a time when federal enforcement has rattled immigrant communities.

“People don’t want to go to work, they don’t want to take their kids to school, but the love we have for our Virgen de Guadalupe,” Cantabrana said. “We see that la Virgen de Guadalupe has a lot of power, and so we know immigration [enforcement] won’t come here.”

Margarita Lopez of Garden Grove has been visiting the altar for three years with her husband. She’s been celebrating the Virgencita since she was a young girl. Honoring the saint is as important now as ever, she said.

“We ask, and she performs miracles,” Lopez said.

Claudia Tapia, a lifelong Santa Ana resident, said the Virgin Mary represents strength.

“Right now, with everything going on, a lot of our families [have] turned and prayed to the Virgen for strength during these times,” Tapia said. “She's a very strong symbol of Mexican culture, of unity, of faith and of resilience.”

See it for yourself

The shrine will stay up into the new year on the corner of Broadway and Camile Street.