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CONGRESSMAN SEEKS TO BAN SALE AND DEVELOPMENT
OF VA CAMPUS -- Measure would extend existing
restrictions
to the entire facility as U.S. explores
commercial
uses of property on L.A.'s Westside.
Story here...
http://www.latimes.com/news/
printedition/california/la-me-veteran9may09
,1,1265148.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california
Story below:
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Waxman seeks to ban sale, development of VA campus
Measure would extend existing restrictions to the
entire facility as U.S. explores commercial uses of property on L.A.'s
Westside.
By Martha Groves, Times Staff Writer
U.S. Rep. Henry A. Waxman on Tuesday introduced legislation that would
prohibit the sale or commercial development of any portion of the West
Los Angeles Veterans Affairs campus.
The measure would also require the VA to satisfy a 1998 congressional
mandate by completing a comprehensive master plan for the property aimed
at ensuring that veterans' future needs would be adequately addressed.
"This legislation assures permanent protection of the land," Waxman, a
veteran Los Angeles Democrat, said in a statement. "Today, soldiers from
Iraq and Afghanistan are returning home to face shortages in services.
We owe our veterans an ironclad guarantee that their needs are our
priority."
The measure is expected to attract widespread support.
In recent years, the VA has not only been studying how to improve
healthcare; it has also focused on making the most of any potential
reuse or redevelopment of all or portions of several of its properties.
Starting in the 1990s, various proposals by the federal government to
commercially develop portions of the choice property have caused
tremendous friction with local elected officials and residents, who have
protested that such uses would do nothing to help veterans and would
worsen congestion in the area.
Among the most dramatic proposals were a National Football League
stadium, a biotech campus and a mail-order pharmacy that would have had
delivery trucks routinely entering and leaving the property next to a
residential neighborhood. Consultants to the VA have suggested expanding
an existing nine-hole golf course to an 18-hole executive course with a
driving range and mixed-used development that would include residences
and businesses.
In 1988, concerned about privatization proposals by the Reagan
administration, the late Sen. Alan Cranston pushed through development
restrictions on 109 acres of the campus. Waxman's bill would extend
those restrictions to the entire 388-acre campus.
The West Los Angeles VA campus, which lies north and south of Wilshire
Boulevard between Westwood and Brentwood, contains the nation's largest
VA medical center.
According to the California Department of Veterans Affairs, more than 1
million veterans live within 50 miles of the center, more than in 42
other states combined.
"The bill accomplishes what we need to protect that property," said Los
Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who traveled to Washington
two weeks ago to consult with Waxman and his staff on the measure's
provisions.
As it is, Yaroslavsky, Waxman and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California)
have criticized the VA's decision to lease space to corporate users such
as Enterprise Rent-A-Car, SodexhoFox Entertainment Group and a bus
company. The elected officials and a coalition of veterans, businesses
and residents contend that such uses are inappropriate.
Yaroslavsky described as absurd "the notion that you would privatize in
order to raise funds for the VA."
"You can't sell assets to operate your facility," he said.
Jose Llamas, a VA spokesman in Washington, said the agency's policy was
not to comment on proposed legislation. However, he added that "the VA
is committed to serving the needs of America's veterans, including the
veterans of the West L.A. community."
Feinstein recently introduced legislation that would require the
government to complete a master plan for the federal properties in the
area, which also include the Federal Building and a U.S. Army Reserve
parcel.
The FBI recently backed away from a proposal to raze the Federal
Building and erect a two-building high-rise regional headquarters for
the FBI after Feinstein, Waxman and the coalition pushed the bureau to
look elsewhere.
The community celebrated that decision. Waxman's legislation provided
another bit of cheer.
"We are elated," said Laura Lake, a longtime community activist. "We are
relieved that the big campus is being saved."
martha.groves@latimes.com
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Larry Scott --
