Redevelopment OKd for Bryant-Vanalden

The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday approved a $25-million, tax-supported plan to transform the rundown Bryant-Vanalden area of Northridge into a gated, park-like community, even though critics say it could force out many of the neighborhood’s low-income Latino tenants.

An aide to Mayor Tom Bradley said the mayor will approve the plan once it reaches his desk.

The plan, approved by the council on a 9-1 vote, with Councilman Ernani Bernardi dissenting, calls for the city to issue $20.8 million in tax-exempt bonds and lend another $4.2 million to a developer to buy and fix up 462 apartments in the neighborhood. It is the largest project of its kind since the city began rehabilitating low-income housing in 1980, according to Craig Avery, director of the housing division of the city’s Community Development Department.

The plan was the second one proposed for the area, which has long been criticized for introducing crime and unsightly conditions into the middle-class neighborhood. The first one was dropped last year after protests by tenants and civil-rights groups that it would cause mass evictions of the 3,000 predominantly low-income Latino tenants in the cluster of 60 apartment buildings at Bryant Street and Vanalden Avenue.

Assurances for Tenants

Wednesday’s council action came after Douglas Ford, general manager of the Community Development Department, assured council members that the plan affords tenants greater protection than any similar one in city history.

No evictions are proposed, although the developer plans to temporarily relocate tenants to apartments in the same neighborhood while their units are fixed up.

The latest plan allows the developer, Devinder (Dave) Vadehra, to raise rents up to $175 a month to recover the cost of improvements. The city proposes to soften the blow of rent increases by subsidizing the rents of an undetermined number of low-income tenants.

During a public hearing before the vote, representatives of legal aid and tenants’ rights groups who have worked with Bryant-Vanalden tenants, expressed concern that the plan would force out many tenants who cannot obtain rent subsidies and cannot afford the rent increases.

“This project shouldn’t be just for the sake of beautifying the neighborhood without providing affordable housing for the tenants,” said Anne Kamsvaag, an attorney with San Fernando Valley Neighborhood Legal Services.

‘Large-Scale Evictions’

Larry Gross, executive director of Coalition for Economic Survival, a tenants’ rights group, also urged votes against the plan. “We are opposed to his plan because we see it as another effort which will result in large-scale evictions of low-income minority tenants,” he said.

Gross also protested the city’s failure to notify Bryant-Vanalden tenants of the plan.

Avery said the city will make “every effort” to obtain rent subsidies for low-income tenants. To qualify for a rent subsidy, a family of four must earn less than $24,150 a year.

“With this type of subsidy,” he said, “in many cases, they will be paying less rent and living in better housing conditions than they are today.”

Tenants who qualify for rent subsidies pay 30% of their income on rent. The rest is picked up by the government. A tenant who now pays $500 a month for a two-bedroom apartment and earns $1,000 a month thus would have to pay only $300 in rent if he qualifies for a subsidy, even if the rent increases.

Some May Have to Move

Avery acknowledged that some tenants who do not obtain rent subsidies may be forced to move because of higher rents. But, he assured the council, the developer will try to find these tenants other housing in the same neighborhood or elsewhere in the city.

“The cornerstone of this project is that we do not have any mandatory relocation and the fact that we are going to be working with the tenants every step of the way to avoid relocation,” Avery told council members.

The staff of the city Community Development Department recommended proceeding with the plan, despite uncertainty over the eligibility for subsidies of the many illegal aliens believed to live in the Bryant-Vanalden tenant area. The Reagan Administration has proposed restricting subsidies to legal residents of the United States.

But Avery told the council that the Administration has delayed implementation of the policy and that it is being challenged in court.

Among those supporting the plan was Councilman Joel Wachs, who has championed renters’ rights on the council. Wachs said the plan provides the best opportunity for the council to deal with problems in the Bryant-Vanalden area.

‘Going to Rot Away’

“If we don’t do this, the buildings are just going to rot away,” he said.

After the vote, Councilman Hal Bernson, whose district includes the Bryant-Vanalden area, called the council action “one of the most important measures I’ve been able to get through the council since I’ve been here.” Upgrading the Bryant-Vanalden area has been a high priority and a source of frustration for Bernson since he was elected in 1979.

Bernson was busy lobbying a number of his colleagues on the council floor right up to the roll call. Several council members said they voted for the plan as a courtesy to Bernson, following a custom of deferring to council members on projects in their own districts.

Councilman Richard Alatorre expressed concerns during the council meeting about the effect on tenants but voted for the plan. He said in an interview that he backed the plan after receiving assurances from Bernson and the Community Development Department staff that they would monitor the effect on tenants and report back to the council if any problems arise.

Bernardi Tells Objections

Bernardi objected to a provision of the plan that requires the developer to set aside 20% of the housing units for low-income residents for 17 1/2 years in return for receiving tax-exempt bond financing. Bernardi said the developer should be required to set aside units for low-income tenants for a longer period.

City housing officials said that federal guidelines do not allow them to extend the term.

Vadehra proposes to make a number of improvements, including installation of security gates and fencing.

Also under consideration is closing off Bryant Street and making it a greenbelt and opening a child-care center. He expects to complete the renovations in two to three years.

With the new image, the developer proposes a new name for the area: “Park Parthenia.”

Vadehra has said the project is not financially feasible without the bonds, which provide him with funds at a lower interest rate than he can receive from a bank or other conventional sources. The bonds are sold to private investors, who earn tax-free interest.

Vadehra, a 48-year-old native of India, has worked with the city on similar, though smaller, apartment rehabilitation projects in Hollywood and the mid-Wilshire area.