In Los Angeles, a vast homeless encampment is causing frustration among neighbors. They claim the temporary shelter has evolved into a small “city” with functioning electricity and even amenities like a tennis court, garden, and barbecue area.

The encampment sits on a vacant Koreatown lot surrounded by apartment buildings and other structures, according to ABC 7. 

“The reason why people are staying here is that you officials are failing to take action and clean this place up,” neighborhood resident Daniel King expressed to the station.

Max Smith, another neighbor, described the privately owned site as “a city in there,” adding, “It’s crazy. It’s crazy.” 

“There’s a tennis court, there’s a garden where they’re growing stuff,” resident Sangmin Lee told the local station.  

“There’s a barbecue pit.” 

Concerns over safety were heightened when Lee observed individuals living in the lot tampering with a streetlight, installing a surge protector, and running an extension cord from it into the encampment.

“Thank God it hasn’t rained in a while,” Lee said.

“It’s a fire hazard … then they run the cable across the street, and it’s a trip hazard for everyone.” 

A young woman living nearby told ABC 7 she avoids walking her dog near the site because people from the encampment have approached her while she was alone. 

An ABC 7 crew visiting the lot reported being threatened by a person on the property. 

Los Angeles City Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky said the city has struggled to act because the land is privately owned. 

“I think that the challenge comes from the fact that this is private property,” Yaroslavsky told ABC 7.

“But because it’s private property, there’s [a] different path and that path is convoluted. It’s over-bureaucratic. It’s the city at its worst, sort of not being able to get out of its own way.” 

The lot is owned by a limited liability corporation registered in Delaware, which did not respond to requests for comment, according to ABC7. 

Yaroslavsky said the company has cooperated with officials and is expected to soon post “No Trespassing” signs on the fence around the encampment, a step that would allow LAPD to intervene. 

The Los Angeles Department of Building Safety told ABC 7 it is “issuing an order to comply to the property owner to address the security, rubbish, garbage, trash and debris graffiti.” 

But Yaroslavsky pressed for quicker enforcement. 

“We immediately called [them] and said, ‘Hey, get out there. Please send an inspector out there so we can start this process,’ and it took a while, but they finally have gotten someone out there,” she said. 

Meanwhile, Public Works told ABC 7 crews will install an anti-vandal wrap around the streetlight that was rigged to provide electricity. 

Mayor Karen Bass’ office told the news station that outreach teams have been dispatched to the encampment in an effort to move residents into housing.