Power Struggle Indicated as CRA Director Helfeld Quits

Edward M. Helfeld, who for nearly a decade has headed the agency that has guided the resurgence of downtown Los Angeles, stepped down unexpectedly Tuesday.

Helfeld said he is leaving the Community Redevelopment Agency because he could not come to terms on a new contract with the agency’s commission, which is appointed by Mayor Tom Bradley. Helfeld and commission members refused to outline their differences. But agency sources said the $96,000-a-year administrator and the commission have been at odds on a number of recent issues, including development of Pershing Square, permitting corporate signs on top of new downtown skyscrapers, planning for the large South Park residential community and appointment of top agency staffers.

Taken together, sources said, there appeared to be a power struggle between Helfeld and some commissioners, particularly the chairman, Jim Wood, and Christopher L. Stewart, close allies of Bradley and representatives of significant power bases.

Wood heads the political arm of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, and Stewart is executive director of the Central City Assn., an organization of major downtown businesses and developers.

Wood has often pointedly emphasized that the commission, not the agency staff, will decide major issues. In an interview Tuesday, for example, Wood reacted sharply to the characterization of Helfeld as a “major player” in creating the Bradley Administration’s vision of a high-rise-studded, 24-hour downtown, saying, “He’s not a ‘player.’ He carries out our program.”

The commission has rejected a number of Helfeld’s recommendations on key issues. On Pershing Square, Helfeld opposed the commission’s action to give a nonprofit downtown business group $1.6 million to help redevelop the historic city park. That group, the Pershing Square Management Assn., in which Stewart has been very active, recently produced ambitious plans for an $11.9-million revitalization.

Stewart acknowledged Tuesday that he has had differences with Helfeld on Pershing Square, but insisted that they “literally did not enter in” the discussions of Helfeld’s contract.

Helfeld also has called for strict limits on the signs that large corporations could place on top of the new high-rises downtown, arguing that the signs would lead to visual clutter on buildings that should become architectural landmarks. The commission and the mayor, who had received complaints from developers, opted for a more liberal sign policy.

Helfeld reportedly thought the commission was infringing on his authority as administrator in appointments of top staff members. He also opposed a recent commission decision to hire an outside panel of planners to review the CRA staff’s plans for development of South Park.