Tujunga residents frustrated with homeless encampment near former golf course

TUJUNGA, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Tujunga residents who live near the former Verdugo Hills Golf Course are unhappy with a homeless encampment that has taken root in the area over the past several years.

At least three RVs and a collection of other makeshift shelters can be seen along the stretch of La Tuna Canyon Road.

Neighbors say the encampment initially set up in the parking lot of the now closed golf course, which went out of business in 2017. They shifted when the property owners forced them off.

"About two to three years ago, they started moving from the wash up this way," said Tujunga resident Tony Rodriguez, referring to the homeless population at the camp. "Because obviously we have a nice area, we have woods and we have water."

Rodriguez has lived in Tujunga for more than 30 years and is also running for a state assembly seat. He says the encampment has been a hub for crime and poses a serious safety risk to the surrounding community.

"There was a stabbing. Two women were fighting, one slashed the other one. She was arrested. Narcotics is always an issue," he said about the encampment. "They found a chop shop up here at one time. They closed it down. They had about seven or eight stolen vehicles in there."

Rodriguez says city officials need to do more to crack down on criminal activities at the encampment and clear the property they're squatting on.

"The reason we moved to Southern Tujunga is because we live in a beautiful place," he told Eyewitness News. "It used to be fairly safe."