Scott Wins Round in Church Sale Dispute

After a lengthy, acrimonious session, the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday gave controversial television preacher Dr. Gene Scott a partial victory in his fight against those seeking to foreclose on his former downtown church.

The council voted to prohibit any demolition permits to be issued against the property. The action means that the Church of the Open Door, which had sold the property to Scott’s Wescott Christian Center, is now hindered in its hopes of repossessing the 72-year-old church and selling the property to commercial developers any time soon.

But the council declined to declare the church, known for its neon “Jesus Saves” sign, a city cultural historic monument, as Scott wanted. The official designation would have kept the property from being demolished and developed into a high-rise for as long as a year. At the end of that period, the owner could demolish the building only if an environmental impact report, representing a study of the effects of the demolition, had been filed with the city.

In the background of the council action is a legal dispute between Scott and officials of the Church of the Open Door in Glendora, which owned the church on Hope Street until it was sold to Scott’s organization in January of 1986.

Wescott stopped making payments when Lehua May Garcia, who says she is a member of the Church of the Open Door, went to court challenging the sale of the property to Wescott on the grounds that a religious trust in the deed dedicates the property exclusively to “God’s work.” That, the suit alleged, would make it impossible for it ever to be sold for commercial development. Scott has said he is willing to pay the full $23-million price for the property if the deed restriction could be resolved.

Scott’s organization owes a total of $17.5 million in principal and interest, according to court records.

Church of the Open Door officials charge that Scott, using friendships he has made with some city officials, has tried to persuade the council to declare the property a monument in order to devalue the property and discourage potential buyers. Scott told the council Wednesday that the move for historic designation “has nothing to do with money . . . the only issue before this council is does it deserve historic monument status?”

Councilman Gilbert Lindsay, leading the move for the monument designation, appeared to have the eight votes necessary for passage, but the proposal stalled over warnings from city attorneys that the city could wind up in murky legal waters because of bankruptcy proceedings. Wescott Christian Center transferred ownership Monday to a new corporation--headed by Scott’s lawyer--which immediately declared bankruptcy.

Assistant City Atty. Norm Roberts said that because the property is embroiled in bankruptcy proceedings, there is a freeze on most actions affecting its status. He advised the council to petition the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for permission to designate the church as a city historic cultural monument. A response from the federal court could come as soon as a week and as late as several weeks, city officials said.

The council eventually voted 9 to 2 for Lindsay’s motion to petition the federal court, adding a provision from Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky that also prohibits the city from issuing any permits allowing demolition.

But the approval came only after strong objections from Councilmen Marvin Braude and Ernani Bernardi, who voted against the Lindsay motion.

Braude noted that two years ago the council was ready to approve demolition of the church when there were plans for an office building. He said, “I didn’t hear anyone raising voices at that time about historical significance.” Braude said he objected to “this rush to action” and called the council approval “a conspiracy to help one private interest over the other . . . that’s just grossly improper.”

But Ruth Ann Lehrer, an official of the Los Angeles Conservancy, said the church deserved designation “as a cultural landmark,” saying the Italian Renaissance church is the “sole survivor of a monumental church downtown.”

By the city’s definition of a cultural monument--any site “in which the broad cultural, political, economic or social history . . . is reflected.”--the church “clearly qualifies,” Councilman Joel Wachs said.

Both sides claimed victory Wednesday. Scott said the council action “was the right decision. . . . It’s now incapable of being demolished.”

But C. Michael Cocoris, a Church of the Open Door official, said that had the council declared the site a cultural monument, “the property would have been devalued today. Now, we have some time and it puts it back in the courts.”

Times religion writer Russell Chandler contributed to this article.