A scathing watchdog report says after a years-long legal battle and settlement, the VA is still misusing large chunks of its 388-acre campus in West Los Angeles and falling behind in its goal to build housing for homeless veterans.
The report found 11 illegal leases and another 14 organizations operating on the Brentwood campus without valid agreements. The problem leases include a City of L.A. park with a popular dog run, the Red Cross, an oil drilling operation, a parrot sanctuary and the Shakespeare Center of L.A., which produced a Henry IV show starring Tom Hanks this summer in the VA’s Japanese Garden.
The VA is also failing to meet a key benchmark for building 1,200 units of permanent supportive housing on the land by 2026.
“Although WLA is making progress…VA is not on track to meet the revised milestone to provide 484 permanent supportive housing units by September 2020,” the report said.
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