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VA ASKS ARMY RESERVE TO RETURN 10 ACRES OF LAND
IN
WEST L.A. -- Wants a prime parcel of land they
gave away
decades ago to prevent it from being sold to a
developer.
West L.A. VA
For more about the property problems at the
West L.A. VA, use the VA Watchdog search engine...click here...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/ses
search.php?q=west+l.a.&op=ph
Story here...
http://www.latimes.com/
news/printedition/california/la-me-ve
terans3oct03,1,2682802.story?co
ll=la-headlines-pe-california
Story below:
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VA asks Army Reserve to return Westside parcel
Healthcare official seeks to regain disputed 10-acre site on Wilshire
Blvd. rather than have it sold to a developer.
By James Ricci
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
The head of the Department of Veterans Affairs' sprawling complex in
West Los Angeles has asked the Army to return a prime parcel of land the
VA gave away decades ago, rather than sell it to a developer.
In a letter to the Army Reserve, Charles M. Dorman, director of the VA's
Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, urgently requested that officials
"reconsider your decision to transfer ownership of the Army Reserve
property."
The 10-acre site, on the southeast corner of Wilshire Boulevard and
Federal Avenue, has been the subject of an intense dispute, with the
Army arrayed against a solid front of neighbors and businesses, as well
as city, county, state and federal officeholders. Opponents contend that
development of the land will further congest the already traffic-choked
area of Wilshire Boulevard near the 405 Freeway, and unfairly deprive
veterans of use of the site.
The parcel was part of the larger, 388-acre VA site, which was
originally bequeathed to the National Home for Disabled Volunteer
Soldiers in 1888 with the proviso the land benefit veterans in
perpetuity. In 1955, the VA, which had come into ownership of the land,
transferred the smaller parcel to the Air Force Reserve, which, in 1975,
transferred it to the Army Reserve.
"Selling off such land to the highest bidder for commercial development
would thwart the intent of the original land grant as well as the
subsequent transference of the property from the VA . . . for a military
reserve," Dorman wrote.
Dorman's letter "is a formal request, and to us that's a very big step,"
said Laura Lake, a leader of the Coalition for Veterans' Land, which has
led opposition to the sale. "We're really, really pleased that the Army
is now officially on notice."
The letter was addressed to Brig. Gen. William D. Frink Jr., commander
of the 311th Corps Support Command of the U.S. Army Reserve.
Representatives for the 63rd Regional Readiness Command, the Los
Alamitos-based unit to which the 311th belongs, could not be reached
immediately for comment.
The developer in question is JSM Capital, which has proposed three
high-density alternatives for the site -- 300 hotel rooms and 500
residential units; a 3-acre park with 300 hotel rooms and 300
residential units; and a 1.5-million-square-foot medical facility.
The company revealed the proposals at a Sept. 13 public hearing, the
first step in an environmental study required by federal law.
JSM was the only bidder for the property in what the Army Reserve termed
a "real property exchange."
The developer is required to build three Army Reserve centers worth
about $100 million, and in return receive the right to develop the
Wilshire Boulevard parcel.
james.ricci@latimes.com
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Larry Scott --
