“We’re talking about homeless housing located on some of the most expensive land on Earth, occupying what used to be a much-needed parking garage, at a cost of $2 million per unit. The value of that land was around $120 to $150 million. If they’re building 120 units on there, that’s a million dollars per unit of just land value, taxpayer land value. The council is justifying it by saying it’s very needed.”

Siaymak sits down with Dr. Herman Hemmati, an activist and resident of Los Angeles, who over the years has been observing how LA is dealing with the homeless in the county in different cities, including the city of Santa Monica.

“I’ve seen people who’ve owned buildings and wanted to develop them for medical purposes, who’ve given up and said, you know what, I’m turning it into homeless housing, I’m going to make more money quicker, because the city will just write me unlimited checks. And that’s what’s happening.

*Views expressed in this video/article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of California Insider.