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Appeals court puts a pause on plans to quickly build housing on VA campus in West LA
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, left, shown in West L.A. on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024.
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Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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Los Angeles Times
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Topline:
A federal appeals court has pumped the brakes on plans to quickly build new housing on the VA campus in West L.A.
The background: Last week, Judge David O. Carter told VA officials he would hold them in contempt if they failed to speed up contracts for 750 units of new temporary housing. This order stems from a case brought by veterans who argued the VA has been failing to use the sprawling West L.A. campus for its original intended purpose: housing disabled veterans.
The latest: On Friday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the VA’s request for a temporary stay, for the moment pausing Carter’s order to fast-track new housing and giving VA officials relief from possibly being held in contempt of court. Lawyers for the federal government have argued the VA’s $407 billion annual budget is already tied up serving competing needs.
The response: Amanda Mangaser Savage, a Public Counsel attorney representing the veterans who sued the VA, said her clients felt like the timing of the stay — coming right before Veterans Day — added insult to injury.
“As [VA officials] pay lip service to what all of these veterans have done for our country, let it be known that they are fighting, actively, placing temporary housing on the grounds that veterans need right now,” she said.
What’s next: The parties are set to appear before Carter in a court session scheduled for Wednesday.
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