Yaroslavsky Slams Fed’s VA Privatization Plans

During the Santa Monica Canyon Civic Association’s annual meeting last Tuesday, Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky assailed current federal plans to privatize parts of the West L.A. Veterans Affairs campus. ‘The biggest threat to our property is what could happen to the VA property in the next 18 months while this administration is still around,’ Yaroslavsky said to about 100 homeowners gathered in Rustic Canyon Park’s gymnasium. With varying intensity since the 1980s, the Department of Veterans Affairs has considered plans to sell parts of 388-acre VA campus. Part of unincorporated L.A. County, the large property rests between Brentwood and Westwood and is considered one of the most valuable pieces of real estate in Southern California. The property’s high value presents a possible windfall for the department, which is obligated to use the money for veterans services. Consultants hired by the department have drafted several potential plans over the years, including mixed-use residential developments and biotech campuses’and even a National Football League stadium. ‘The Bush Administration is trying to optimize the property,’ explained Yaroslavsky, who chairs the powerful county Board of Supervisors. ‘What does that mean to you and me? That means they plan to build the hell out of it!’ Many Westside and state politicians, veterans groups and community groups vehemently oppose selling the land. They argue that development there could reduce veterans services at the property. Fear of increased traffic congestion has also raised the stakes for many Westside residents, including Santa Monica Canyon homeowners. ‘It would benefit all of Palisades if they can slow down this juggernaut,’ said George Wolfberg, president of the Santa Monica Canyon Civic Association. ‘We’re at the end of the line. If we have to get almost anywhere, we have to go through Westwood.’ In 2005, the Palisades Community Council unanimously supported Yaroslavsky’s attempts to prevent commercial development at the site. For Yaroslavsky, a lifelong L.A. resident, preserving the site is also personal. ‘When I was growing up, there were still soldiers recovering from World War II,’ he said. ‘I remember’even as a kid’how neat I thought the open space there was.’ Because the VA campus is federal property, development at the campus is not dependent on county or city approval. Yaroslavsky applauded the cooperation of Congressman Henry Waxman and Senator Dianne Feinstein, who have both written legislation that could halt the department’s plans there. Last week, Waxman introduced a bill that would bar any development at the campus. And last month, Feinstein submitted a bill requiring the completion of an eight-years-in-the-making master plan. Her bill also prohibits putting anything on the campus not directly related to veterans services. The VA’s current policy of leasing some of the property to Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Fox Entertainment and a bus company has angered many local activists, who say the campus’ purpose of exclusively helping veterans has been perverted. Beyond the VA, Yaroslavsky also discussed ongoing county projects with local significance. He assured homeowners that the county’s $12-million project at Will Rogers State Beach will be completed by Memorial Day. He said some areas ‘which will not affect public access to the beach will take longer.’ He also said that he initiated a comprehensive program to identify the sources of beach pollution last year. City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who also opposes commercial development at the VA, discussed his current work on the council with Santa Monica Canyon homeowners last week. A member of the council’s Budget Committee, he said he is working to reinvest more money into aging infrastructure and increase police services. He also said that he is working with Yaroslavsky ‘to create a homeless shelter in a light industrial area that won’t affect neighbors.’ Rosendahl and Yaroslavsky reiterated their support for expanding mass transit to the Westside. The councilman is actively promoting expanding the Green Line to LAX and the Expo Line to Santa Monica. The supervisor has introduced a plan to convert Olympic and Pico into a one-way circuit. He has also supported extending the Expo line to Santa Monica. ———– To contact Staff Writer Max Taves, e-mail reporter@palipost.com or call (310) 454-1321 ext. 28.