6-acre hoarder property in fire-prone La Tuna Canyon evaluated for clean-up

Dozens of police, firefighters, and building inspectors descended on a six-acre hoarder property in the San Fernando Valley Wednesday.

Their mission: to establish a plan to clean up what city Councilman Monica Rodriguez said has become a major nuisance and fire hazard for the neighborhood.

KNX News' Emily Valdez reports that junk has been piling up at the property on La Tuna Canyon Road for years—about 100 vehicles (some allegedly stolen), tons of trash, hazardous waste, and toxic chemicals.

Council member Rodriguez said, "Late Monday, the court authorized a warrant that enabled city crews to go in and conduct a more thorough inspection of what is on the property. Yes, we had the aerial views but in order to take subsequent actions, they have to go in and get a ground view."

She said the home has been the source of frustration and problems since 2019, complicated by the fact there are multiple parcels associated with the location. Rodriguez office's has been receiving continued reports about the "open storage, inoperable vehicles, trash and debris and grading without permits."

The person living on the property, David Ferrera, has been detained on misdemeanor warrants, but one neighbor said, "This has happened many times before. He will be gone for 24 hours and back on the property."

In November 2019, the city attorney filed a lawsuit against the homeowners, followed by court hearings in September and November 2020.

"As a result of COVID, court cases were canceled and rescheduled in 2021," Rodriguez said. "The owner had reported claims of progress ... based on what the Department of Building and Safety could visibly see having not been on the property."

The councilwoman said the owner was sentenced to 180 days in jail for the citations but ultimately served only one.

Prior to Wednesday, inspectors were unable to enter the property due to prolonged legal proceedings.

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Earlier this month, the Los Angeles Times reported that Ferrera, suffers from mental health issues.

Mary Ferrera, a retired high-school math teacher and David's mother took over the property deed in 2014. She told The Times that her son couldn't make payments, but she wanted him to be able to live there.

In 2017, during the La Tuna Canyon Fire, the home survived, but most of his possessions burned and were lost.

"He began scavenging metal to survive, which may have triggered or worsened his hoarding," Mary told the Times. "We think that the trauma of all this, and possibly some unresolved past trauma, led to his acquisition of more and more `things' to replace what was lost."

The city will take its findings from the inspection back to a court, which will determine whether the city can begin abatement. It's unclear how long that will take.

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