‘The imagination can go to great lengths with that property, but the land just sits there.’ --A Carson official : Old Landfill’s Future Still in Dream Stage

Wild grass and discarded rubble form a vast, rugged landscape here that has been vacant as long as Carson has been a city.

Despite its unkempt features, many people have harbored elaborate visions of this 180-acre site: high-rise hotels and a 600-unit condominium complex, one of the largest master-planned business centers in the South Bay and even, at one time, a stadium for the Los Angeles Rams.

But the dreams for what many describe as Carson’s most valuable undeveloped property are as overrun by doubt as the site is by debris and weeds. As one city official put it, “The imagination can go to great lengths with that property, but the land just sits there.”

Indeed, the latest blow to development of the parcel--believed to be one of the largest usable vacant properties in Los Angeles County--came three weeks ago when the most recent developer failed to close on the property for lack of financing. The purchase price was to be $19 million.

Future Not Clear

Although some involved in that deal say they are seeking to renegotiate, it remains unclear when there will be a development on the property, who will launch it and whether the property will ever have the image-enhancing centerpiece that Carson officials have long envisioned.

“The uncertainty is a problem,” said Councilwoman Vera Robles DeWitt. “I look at that property probably as the jewel of the city. We need to move forward with it.”

The uncertainty is augmented by potential environmental problems on the parcel, which has lain vacant and unused for 20 years. A former swamp used as a landfill during the early 1960s, it has been placed for three years on the state’s priority cleanup list for former waste disposal sites. State health officials have confirmed that hazardous waste was dumped at the property, but they have not determined whether the former Cal Compact Landfill poses health or safety hazards.

Many local officials have been interested in the property, not only because they see its development as a crucial drawing card for Carson, but also because they believe that once a firm project is approved, the city will make a significant contribution to it through redevelopment assistance.

Further Complications

Recently, the problems that have stymied the 10-year effort to develop the property have been further complicated by other circumstances, including:

- A $3.5-billion lawsuit alleging fraud and conspiracy against nine major private participants in the latest proposed development. The suit was filed in January by would-be buyer Jorge J. Yavar, a developer who claims that sellers of the property failed to disclose the nature of hazardous substances in the property’s soil. If it is not settled out of court, the suit could tie up any other development for four to five years, according to Carson City Atty. Glenn Watson.

- A $6.1-million writ of attachment on the property, which was signed last week by Orange County Superior Court Commissioner Ronald L. Bauer. The writ is related to a loan that a previous developer with an interest in the property, Casa Del Amo Estates, has not repaid to California Canadian Bank, according a suit filed by the bank.

- Two liens on the property filed in March for $44,502 and $111,792. The liens were filed by engineering and planning consultants who claim they have not been fully paid for work commissioned by Yavar.

- A City Council decision last month to require an environmental warning on city property documents about the possibility of the property being declared a hazardous waste site by state health officials. Although the city said this measure was necessary to protect its liability, Yavar’s bank said the action was responsible for his failure to obtain financing and could have similar effects in the future.

Unsolved Problems

While these recent actions further cloud the future of the site--considered a prime location for a high-quality development because of its proximity to the Harbor and San Diego freeways--past problems also remain largely unaddressed.

During the 10 years the site has been an issue in City Hall, proposals for mobile home parks were submitted on three occasions. A sports stadium was considered when the Rams decided to move from the Coliseum. (Instead, the Rams moved to Anaheim.)

More than one developer wanted to construct a vast automobile dealership. There has been talk of a regional park and an industrial complex. In the latest plan, Yavar offered a $750-million assemblage of offices, high-rise hotels, retail outlets and buildings for high-technology industries.

Those involved in projects proposed during the last six years offer different--and at times conflicting--reasons for the persistent snags. One theme, however, remains consistent by all accounts: Most of the time three parties were involved and rarely were their efforts synchronized.

Main Party

The primary would-be developer in those six years has been Casa Del Amo Estates--a limited partnership that was run by fireworks magnate W. Patrick Moriarty and Downey attorney Henry L. Bear. Casa Del Amo leased or held an option on the Carson property for 4 1/2 years and assigned the option to Yavar in April, 1984.

(Moriarty last month pleaded guilty in an unrelated case to charges that included making illegal contributions to politicians and paying kickbacks to a bank official. He also has declared bankruptcy.)

The two other parties involved were the City of Carson, because of its redevelopment interests, and the state Department of Health Services, which became concerned in 1980 about the potential for hazardous waste problems.

Many city officials say the big problem has been lack of a committed developer.

“There have been a lot of dog-and-pony shows in relation to this site but none of them has been fruitful,” said Councilman Walter J. Egan. “No one’s come in here with a definite plan, something they can really make happen.”

Indeed, some officials say that during much of the last six years they have not known who actually owned the property, who legally held rights to develop it and who represented the various parties interested in it.

Changing Cast

Said Councilwoman Sylvia Muise, “The cast of characters keeps changing--now there’s a new developer, now there’s not. On any given day, I couldn’t tell you who the players are or what the score is for that site.”

She added, “If anyone was seriously interested in developing this property, why would they be fooling around for so long?”

The property is currently owned by Los Angeles businessman Alex Deutsch and Del Amo Gardens, a partnership in which Deutsch is the general partner. For several years, until about a year ago, ownership was shared with Gilkirk Del Amo Estates, a partnership that included actor Kirk Douglas and Los Angeles businessman Arthur Gilbert.

Casa Del Amo in 1980 leased the land and two years later purchased the option to buy the property. However, according to a Casa Del Amo representative, the group assigned the option to other developers three times, most recently to Yavar, a Newport Beach developer.

In each case, the developers to whom Casa Del Amo extended its option--with the hopes of recovering the group’s investment in the site--failed to close on purchasing the property.

With the most recent failure to close, Casa Del Amo’s agreement with Deutsch expired. Deutsch maintains that “the deal is off” for Casa Del Amo and Yavar.

Another Possible Interest

However, representatives for Casa Del Amo and Yavar--who say they have a combined investment of $9 million in the site--say they are seeking to renegotiate an agreement to purchase the property. If they succeed, they say the project will be taken over by another party, Irvine-based World Industrial Center, in which Yavar also holds an interest.

That group, they say, is headed by Robert Ferrante, a Newport Beach developer and major stockholder in Irvine-based Consolidated Savings Bank, where World Industrial Center is located.

Ferrante says he is involved with but not heading World Industrial Center, which he said was created solely for development of the 180-acre site. He said he cannot elaborate because it is “in the hands of lawyers” trying to settle litigation surrounding the property.

The property owners, meanwhile, have been collecting $20,000 to $80,000 a month in lease and option payments since at least 1980, according to property documents and a Casa Del Amo representative.

“It’s probably the most money-making land in the state of California--and it’s vacant,” said Egan, the councilman.

And while some city officials blame developers for the deadlock, a representative for Casa Del Amo contends that the partnership pursued the project in good faith.

If Casa Del Amo had not been interested in development, it would not have invested about $6 million pushing its proposals, said Marshall Riconosciuto, a Casa Del Amo representative for five years who continues to serve as a consultant to the group.

Not Anticipated

But part of the problem has been that Casa Del Amo never anticipated financing a development as vast as the major business and industrial center that it has been proposing for the last four years, Riconosciuto added.

When Casa Del Amo first entered into an agreement to develop the property in 1980, it expected only to construct a mobile home park. That proposal was scrapped--just before Casa Del Amo says it was about to begin construction--when state health officials voiced concerns about the potential hazardous waste problems at the site and advised the city not to permit residential development there.

“We had financing for that,” Riconosciuto said of the mobile home park. “Casa never represented that they were capable of being the sole developer of that property once the mobile home park fell through. That’s never been a mystery. We looked around for other people to join in the development.”

The former Cal Compact Landfill was used for six years as a dump mostly for household rubbish. However, state and city records show that hazardous waste was also dumped there--sometimes illegally but often because such materials were not then defined as “hazardous.”

More Obstacles

After the state showed concern about the site, the path toward development became even more ridden with obstacles.

The biggest problem lay in obtaining the environmental clearance needed for development. Both the city as early as 1981 and Casa Del Amo on several occasions requested that the state render that determination.

But no determination has ever been made.

“We had our study done and for a year, we were totally locked in the bureaucracy of it all,” said James Crisp, vice president of BCL Associates, which was commissioned by Casa Del Amo to conduct that environmental study.

The state says that study, which found some hazardous waste, was not extensive enough to allow state officials to determine the potential health hazard at the site.

The 1981 environmental study of the site is not adequate, state officials say, because it addressed only 63 of the 180 acres--the portion which in 1980 was intended for a mobile home park--and did not include an evaluation of possible ground-water or air contamination.

Doubts About High-Rise

And even when the needed studies are completed to the state’s satisfaction and a developer moves forward with a firm proposal, questions may remain about the feasibility of high-rise development on a former landfill.

County sanitation officials say they know of only one other Los Angeles county landfill that has been the site of such development because of the expense of sinking at least part of the building foundations through 20 to 60 feet of garbage. The foundations must rest in soil below the landfill because of rubbish decomposition.

One real estate professional said that environmental problems are the site’s major problem.

“The real issue is the landfill,” said Clint McMorris, associate vice president of Coldwell Banker Commercial Real Estate Service, who said he has been familiar with the property for several years. “Developing a 180-acre landfill is major problem and the potential toxic waste is a special problem beyond that. Because of its size the site is pretty well known (but) developing it would be a major undertaking.”

Hope Remains

In spite of all the problems and uncertainties that have stalled development for 10 years, many officials and developers remain hopeful, if somewhat cautious, that the city may still realize its visions.

“This could be the image-maker for Carson, to have people travel down the freeway without just seeing the (Goodyear) blimp and the (Carson) Mall,” Councilwoman DeWitt said. “I see a lot of potential there--whether my plans are pipe dreams or not, I’m not sure.”