Sierra Club Asks for Time to Review Lease : Vote on Basin Cultural Center Delayed

After five months of delays while lawyers haggled over legal fine points, the Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Commission once again postponed a decision Friday on granting a lease to the San Fernando Valley Cultural Foundation for construction of a cultural center in the Sepulveda Basin.

This time, with the legal wrangling apparently behind them, commissioners ran into another roadblock: the Sierra Club.

A representative of the wilderness advocacy organization asked for another postponement so the club could review changes that have been made since the contract first came before the commission Oct. 31.

Modifications Sheltered

Attorney Robert L. Schuchard, representing the nonprofit Cultural Foundation, argued that any objections the Sierra Club might make would have nothing to do with the modifications in the lease made since the commission approved the cultural center concept in October.

The lease would give the foundation 20 years to develop an arts complex on about 60 acres at the northwest corner of the Sepulveda Basin, near Victory and Balboa boulevards.

In October, the panel expressed approval of the project, but Commissioner Dennis R. Luna asked for a delay for a review of the lease by the city attorney’s office.

Luna said he was concerned that the original document, prepared by the department staff and attorneys for the foundation, lacked protections to ensure that the project would be designed to the satisfaction of city officials and, once begun, would be completed.

Must Begin in 6 Years

The contract presented to the commissioners, after rewriting by the city attorney’s office and lawyers for the foundation, requires the foundation to begin the project within six years and gives the city the right to review the project, Luna said.

Jill Swift, a representative of the Angeles chapter of the Sierra Club, asked for the delay to allow its attorneys to examine the new document, which she said had been made available to her only 24 hours before.

In a letter to the commission, Swift and chapter chairman Elden Hughes said the club feels the Sepulveda Basin “should not be used for recreational services requiring permanent facilities,” in order to preserve open space and because the basin may flood after heavy rains.

The commission postponed the matter to its meeting April 24.