Mount Washington homeowners turn to ABC7 for answers on stalled construction sites

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Homeowners in Mount Washington say two clusters of unfinished hillside homes have become persistent eyesores and are raising safety concerns, prompting them to seek help from 7 on Your Side Investigates after years of stalled construction and little progress from the city.

Residents along Gandymede Drive say work on five homes stopped during the pandemic, leaving behind concrete, rebar and at times gaps in fencing that attract trespassers.

"It's a constant reminder of the city's lack of efficacy, solving the problem. It's a daily reminder," said neighbor Kevin Kearny.

Kearny and others in his neighborhood say people routinely enter the site. "I've caught people making films right here.

"Drinking teenagers, drugs, it's like a moth to the flame. People are attracted to big post-apocalyptic structures," Kearny said.

Daschle Stainthorpe, whose backyard is across the street from the five unfinished homes, said the lots are attracting people who use the neighborhood as a dumping site. "It's just an invitation for a problem," she said.

Naji Garabet, who owns the Gandymede Drive lots, said he understands the frustration.

"You know, I sympathize with them. I feel terrible," he told 7 On Your Side Investigates.

Garabet said his bank pulled financing during the pandemic when work stopped, leaving him unable to continue construction. He said he has since secured new funding, but his permits expired, forcing him into what he described as a lengthy process to obtain new approvals from the city.

"I'm not going to play the victim here, but I am really a victim because nobody wants to throw their money and look at it and see it melt," Garabet said. "What you see, like I told you, is the $3 million of my own money that you see sitting here."

Garabet said he has hired an expert to help expedite the permitting process and hopes construction will resume within weeks.

But residents say the problem extends beyond Gandymede Drive. On Primavera Avenue around the corner, another group of unfinished homes has sat idle for years longer, according to neighbors.

Pertaining to the unfinished homes on Primavera Avenue, the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety said it "has responded to complaints and issued Orders to Comply to the property owners. DBS has also performed abatement work, including fencing and cleaning as recently as of April of this year."

Neighbors say the city's enforcement is having little to no impact.

"I called you because we have not been getting the results we've been hoping to get from our local elected officials," Kearny said.

City records show the Primavera properties are owned by two LLCs. One did not respond to our request for comment; the other declined to comment.

Residents believe the city should require developers to prove they can fund projects before construction begins. Their council office, CD1, said there is no city code allowing Building and Safety to compel a property owner to complete unfinished construction.