Residents near junk-filled property in La Tuna Canyon, Los Angeles wonder what’s next

LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Neighbors of a property in La Tuna Canyon have been waiting for five long years for the owner to clean up the junk-filled yard. This week, a step was made in that direction.

“Quite frankly, I’m exhausted, just tired,” said neighbor Elena Malone.

The large property is filled with old cars, tires, wheels, large appliances and piles of trash.

The Los Angeles Board of Building and Safety Commissioners on Tuesday met with neighbors of Mary Ferrera, the property owner in question. Ferrara did not attend the hearing.

She’s appealing action taken by the city that says she clean up her property. She’s claiming she never received what’s called a Notice of Intent (NOI) – which says if she doesn’t do something the city will.

During Tuesday’s hearing, City Inspector Zeydi Stewart told the commissioners “in regards to receipt of the the NOI, the petitioner did in fact receive it. As a preliminary matter, the fact that she has responded to the posting… proves that she is indeed in receipt of this document.”

Nearby residents have been fighting with Ferrera and are now frustrated that nothing has been done. A court case found Ferrera guilty of not cleaning up her property and she was sentenced to 180 days in jail.

The property sits in L.A. City Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez’s district. Her representative told the commissioners at the meeting to deny the appeal and allow the city to take action against Ferrera.

The vote to deny was unanimous.

After the meeting, Malone told Eyewitness News that gave her a “sense of relief.”

“Really, I’m very glad to hear that the appeal was not accepted. I’m hopeful about that, but I also have no idea what the next steps are,” she said.

The matter now goes to the L.A. City Attorney’s office to determine what action the city will take next.