» Discuss Article    (49 Comments)

SACRAMENTO -- Faced with angry opposition from Los Angeles County supervisors, state lawmakers Wednesday sidelined an effort by the city of Industry to get millions of dollars in tax subsidies that could help lure a National Football League team back to the area.

Backed by developer Ed Roski Jr., who wants to build a football stadium on 600 vacant acres he owns in Industry, the city had asked for power to divert $829 million in county property tax revenue from basic government services to subsidize unnamed development projects.

---

FOR THE RECORD:
NFL stadium: A map that appeared with an article in Thursday's California section about an attempt to attract an NFL team to a proposed stadium in the city of Industry mislabeled the section of the 57 Freeway north of Interstate 10 as Interstate 210. —

---

But county officials, complaining that much of the money would come from their already tight budget, blitzed state lawmakers with letters and phone calls demanding that they vote against the proposal.

Minutes before its first hearing, Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles), who had gutted an unrelated bill of its contents and replaced it with Industry's bid, pulled the proposal from consideration. Her Senate district includes Industry, home to 804 people.

The bill she changed, SB 1771, originated by Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Los Angeles), would initially have provided counseling for homeowners imperiled by the mortgage crisis.

Roski, his firm and employees have contributed more than $1 million in the last five years to California political causes and candidates, including Romero and Padilla.

County Supervisor Gloria Molina, whose district also includes the city, denounced Industry's effort as "an abuse of power," saying that it would use redevelopment money improperly.

"They are not using it to reduce blight," she said. "They are using it to attract a football stadium. . . . Everybody wants an NFL stadium, but I'm not so sure taxpayers should be footing the bill for that."

Molina was joined by county Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, the county's lobbyist, firefighters and others in calling state legislators to voice opposition.

"This is a rip-off," Yaroslavsky said in an interview, explaining his message to legislators.

The bill would have allowed the city of Industry's expiring redevelopment program to be extended for another decade while no longer requiring state review or proof that there is still blight.

Romero said her primary reason for carrying the proposal was the city's promise to build hundreds of units of affordable housing, with or without a stadium.

Supporters had hired a team of high-powered lobbyists, including former state legislators, who pitched the legislation as essential to the plan for affordable apartments.

"It would be great to have a football team once again in Los Angeles County, but it wasn't an issue for me in terms of moving the bill forward," Romero said.

The http://Industrycity of Industry is a 2-mile-wide, 14-mile-long strip of land along the 60 Freeway that is home to industrial parks, scrap yards and strip clubs.

Incorporated in 1957, it has a checkered development history.

One of the city's founders spent three years in federal prison for his role in a kickback and bid-rigging scheme. Roski is a major landowner and builder in Industry.

A spokesman for Roski said the site of the proposed NFL stadium is not within a redevelopment project area, and there is no plan to ask for public funds for the project.