Stanton officials are spending over $100,000 to demolish an abandoned building that nearby residents complain has been overrun by unruly homeless people who threaten them with violence and use it to take drugs.

Last week, city council members voted unanimously without discussion to spend an additional $37,000 on a contract with a demolition company to tear down a vacant four-plex building in the Tina Pacific neighborhood commonly used by homeless individuals for housing and drug usage.

The expected demolition comes roughly two years since officials in one of OC’s smallest cities declared homelessness as an emergency crisis. 

[Read: Stanton Continues To Crack Down On Homelessness]

City officials first approved a $75,000 contract in June to demolish the vacant building. 

This follows an increase in complaints from nearby residents in the past 18 months about homeless people threatening to set fire to vacant units in the building if residents kept reporting their activities, threatening residents with knives and makeshift weapons, and more.

As a result, City Manager Hannah Shin-Heydorn asked for authorization from city council members to demolish the building to prevent trespassing and vandalism.

“Property management and City staff have received numerous complaints from residents regarding concerns for their personal safety, after-hours parties, drug sales, and personal assault,” wrote Shin-Heydorn in a June 9 staff report. 

“Residents state they do not call 911 for fear of retaliation from the transients.” 

As a result of the danger the four-plex poses to the Tina Pacific community, Shin-Heydorn asked for authorization from city council members to demolish the building to prevent trespassing and vandalism.

City officials say that demolition is expected to begin by mid-September and will take a few weeks to complete. 

Shin-Heydorn said tearing down the building isn’t the only way officials are addressing the homeless crisis, pointing to local motel conversions to affordable housing as part of the state’s Project Homekey program.

“The City continues to invest in homeless outreach and services, including support for three Project Homekey developments in town and two regional Navigation Centers. At the same time, the City addresses vacant properties and other conditions that affect neighborhood safety and quality of life,” she wrote in a Monday email.

At this time the property is fully vacant and no individuals are being affected by the demolition, according to city officials.

Recently, city officials voted unanimously to heighten enforcement on all vacant buildings in Stanton – boosting vacant building registration fees to nearly $10,000 and forcing some owners of the buildings to have on-site property managers. 

[Read: Another Orange County City Takes a Hard Look at Abandoned Buildings ]

Shin-Heydorn wrote in an email that the heightened enforcement measures weren’t taken into consideration for the four-plex, because the property had already been identified for demolition before the new vacant property enforcement period began. 

Shin-Heydorn also updated council members on the city’s homeless outreach activities for the month of August last Tuesday.

Outreach coordinators were able to engage with 100 individuals in need of homelessness assistance. Of those 100 individuals, 88 declined offers for shelter while four requests for housing were not able to be obtained by outreach coordinators. 

City officials also reported that hot spots for homeless people’s locations in the month of August were on the streets of Katella and Mercantile, Western and Cerritos Avenue, and Western and Katella. 

“I think at least it’s great that we continue and we insist on getting folks resources, especially when they’re service resistant. I know that’s really rough,” said Councilmember Donald Torres at the Sept. 8 council meeting. 

Torres followed up, asking how many beds were still available for Stanton individuals requesting shelter. Shin-Heydorn replied saying there were no more beds designated for the city. 

She said shelters operate on a first-come, first-serve basis and many people are staying longer at the shelters than officials had expected.

Councilmember John Warren asked if the city has its own kind of informal waiting list for people waiting to be placed in permanent or supportive housing. 

Shin-Heydorn said the county does all the placement and that Stanton has no control over placement into any type of shelter. 

“Our homeless outreach coordinators basically serve as advocates for our end of Stanton individuals who are on the waiting list. If they are not on a call and the person they’re advocating for’s name gets called and our homeless outreach coordinators are not on the call, they’ll just move on to the next person.”

Sara Leon is a Voice of OC Tracy Wood reporting fellow. You can reach her at sleon7903@gmail.com.