Council OKs Annexation of 800-Acre Playa Vista Development Project Tract

Despite opposition from some local homeowners and concern from neighboring cities, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to annex 800 acres of land in Playa Vista for a development project that is expected to eventually attract 18,000 new residents, as well as provide 3 million square feet of office space for up to 28,000 workers and 2,400 new hotel rooms.

The now-vacant property is sandwiched between Marina del Rey and Los Angeles International Airport.

The council, on a 12-0 vote, adopted the annexation plan for the Summa Corp. development, whose backers tout it as one of the largest undeveloped pieces of urban real estate in the country.

The proposed complex of mixed residential, commercial and office development will be built over a 15-year period, and includes nearly 200 acres of coastal wetlands that will be preserved and managed by the National Audubon Society.

“This is such a prize to have within our city and within our region . . . ,” said Council President Pat Russell in praising the Audubon center and the development project.

Russell, who represents the Westchester, Playa del Rey and Venice areas, was the prime mover at City Hall in a five-year effort to annex the multimillion-dollar development area--a project that critics claimed will lead to more density, traffic and sewage problems.

“Are you ready to place another downtown Los Angeles on the Westside?” asked Patrick McCartney of the Venice Town Council during a public hearing before Tuesday’s vote. “I believe that’s the real issue, not just in Playa Vista, but in the other large developments being planned for the Westside.”

McCartney joined a coalition of 15 local homeowner groups in calling for a “down-scaled” Playa Vista project.

Playa Vista Executive Vice President David O’Malley, defending the project, said its proposed building density is less than permitted under current zoning plans.

O’Malley said developers will provide not only sufficient housing but also additional traffic lanes to ease congestion--in addition to about $10 million to restore and manage the nearby wetlands.

City engineers and planning officials also agreed with the developers that the Playa Vista project will not overburden the city’s already-taxed sewer system.

Although they did not oppose annexation, council members in Culver City and Santa Monica did raise concerns about the project, especially its effect on traffic and sewage. Santa Monica Mayor Christine Reed said she is concerned that residents of her city may pay more to “accommodate the sewage that this project generates.”

Rallying behind the project were representatives of local chambers of commerce, some homeowners and a representative of the Audubon Society who urged council members to approve it.

The measure must still be signed by Mayor Tom Bradley, who has supported annexation in the past. The plan will then go before the Local Agency Formation Commission, a regulatory body that oversees property annexations and incorporations.