The VA must build more than 2,500 units of housing for homeless veterans on its sprawling campus in west Los Angeles, a federal judge ruled Friday.
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter also said in his 124-page ruling that leases on portions of the Veterans Administration property to private schools, UCLA and businesses are illegal because they do not benefit veterans.
“Each administration since 2011 has been warned — by the VA’s own Office of the Inspector General, federal courts, and veterans — that they were not doing enough to house veterans in Los Angeles,” Carter wrote.
“Despite these warnings, the VA has not made good on its promise to build housing for veterans.,” he continued. “The cost of the VA’s inaction is veterans’ lives.”
He ordered the VA to build 750 temporary housing units within 12 to 18 months and gave the agency six months to plan another 1,800 units of permanent housing.