Altadena Homeowners Association Sues Resident Post-Fire

An Altadena homeowners association is going to court over a controversial special assessment issued in the wake of the Eaton fire.

The gated Altadena community lost 52 of its 272 homes in last year’s Eaton fire, but all homeowners in the community have been hit with a $23,614 special assessment from the homeowners association, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The fee was issued in July and La Vina residents were given just over a month to pay. The money was intended to cover $6.4 million in damage to landscaping, irrigation and fencing. Residents who didn’t pay faced late fees, 12 percent interest and potential liens.

Now, the HOA is taking legal action. This month, the association sued one owner whose home burned down and is seeking to foreclose on the vacant lot over unpaid dues. The HOA board, its lawyers and its management company did not respond to Times requests for comment.

The clash has divided the La Vina community. Some homeowners argue the fee was necessary to restore property values and fund time-sensitive repair contracts, while others say the process was rushed and tone-deaf given the scale of personal losses.

“Not every resident has $24,000 lying around months after their house burned,” resident Ryan Harmon, who helped lead the charge against not paying the fee, told the Times. “I’ve created enemies.”

Harmon ended up coughing up the money using his $29,000 insurance payout after facing the threat of a lien on his property.

“It’s sad to see a once-thriving community turned so nasty,” Harmon said. “The fire brought everyone together until that HOA letter went out.”

Supporters of the HOA say the board acted within its authority under California law, particularly the Davis-Stirling Act, the state law that governs HOAs. The lawsuit in particular has drawn backlash from critics who argue that foreclosure over post-disaster dues could inflame tensions even more and add legal costs to the association’s bills.

More than a year after the Eaton fire, investors have been swooping in on empty lots and developers are looking to get in on the action. Last year, developer PLC Communities announced “Encore at La Vina,” which consists of 18 luxury homes being rebuilt after the fire. A few have already sold and others are on the market with a starting price of $1.9 million.

— Chris Malone Méndez