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LA officials label Valley Plaza buildings a public nuisance, paving way for demolition
An RV parked near 6301 Laurel Canyon Blvd., one of the boarded up buildings owned by The Charles Company that has now been declared a public nuisance.
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Aaron Schrank
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LAist
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A city of Los Angeles building commission voted Tuesday to declare six vacant properties in North Hollywood’s Valley Plaza shopping center public nuisances.
The move will allow the city to demolish the dilapidated buildings near the intersection of Victory Boulevard and Laurel Canyon Boulevard and bill the property owner for the cost.
“It's completely irresponsible and infuriating to know that these buildings had the potential to stimulate and activate a community — and instead, they contributed to harm and disrespect,” said Corissa Hernandez, a member of the city’s Board of Building and Safety Commission.
The once-iconic Valley Plaza was considered the largest shopping center on the West Coast in the 1950s. While other sections have been redeveloped, this section has been a problem for decades, residents said.
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The Charles Company, a property development firm, purchased the buildings in 2015, but the buildings remained empty and became a hotbed for fires, squatting, and criminal activity, officials said.
“ For years, the city has asked the Charles Company to develop the site or sell it,” said L.A. city councilmember Adrin Nazarian at a news conference outside Valley Plaza on Tuesday. “They could at least secure it effectively. Instead, they've left it to rot and turn into a blight on the entire neighborhood.”
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LA officials label Valley Plaza buildings a public nuisance, paving way for demolition
The property owners claimed through an attorney that they’ve spent more than $1 million attempting to maintain and secure the buildings, but that has been difficult because people continue to trespass there.
They argue the area’s nuisance conditions stem from the tiny-home village and homeless encampments in the city’s nearby Alexandria Park and that those problems will persist after the buildings are leveled.
“The crime is not being committed by the buildings,” attorney Fred Gaines told commissioners, representing the property owners at Tuesday’s hearing.
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Before the commission meeting Tuesday morning, the city conducted a sweep of the Alexandria Park unhoused encampment.
Park rangers and sanitation workers forced 24 unhoused people to pack their tents and belongings and leave the area, according to Nazarian's office. As part of that operation, seven unhoused people in the area accepted interim housing offers, according to Nazarian’s communications director Hugh Esten.
This week, LAist observed at least a dozen unhoused people accessing the buildings that have now been declared a public nuisance. The buildings at the following addresses have been formally designated a public nuisance:
- 12148 Victory Blvd.
- 12152 Victory Blvd.
- 6224 Laurel Canyon Blvd.
- 6301 North Laurel Canyon Blvd.
- 6331 North Laurel Canyon Blvd.
- 6240 North Vantage Ave.
Two of the properties declared public nuisances are located on Victory Boulevard near the Valley Plaza Tower. 12148 W Victory Blvd and 12152 Victory Blvd, North Hollywood, CA.(Aaron Schrank/LAist)
On of the dilapidated buildings, 6301 N Laurel Canyon Blvd, seen from Sylvan Street.(Aaron Schrank/LAist)
A look inside a part of one of the recently condemned buildings.(Aaron Schrank/LAist)
City officials have not announced a timeline for demolishing the buildings.
Corrected August 20, 2025 at 2:08 PM PDT
A previous version of this story misstated the number of unhoused people forced to leave the area Tuesday as part of a cleanup effort. It has been updated to note the numbers as reported by Councilmember Adrin Nazarian’s office. LAist regrets the error.
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