Hawthorne Loses Freeway Housing Ruling

A state appeals court ruling this week in a Hawthorne housing case is being hailed by supporters as a “strong message” to cities along the 15-mile Century Freeway corridor not to stand in the way of housing for minorities and poor people displaced by freeway construction.

But encouraged by the dissent of one judge who heard the case, Hawthorne attorneys will seek a new hearing before the full U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Replacement Housing

A three-member panel of appeals court judges ruled 2-1 on Monday that Hawthorne and other cities along the 15-mile freeway corridor must follow an earlier federal court agreement to allow construction of freeway replacement housing--more than half for minority and low-income people. The agreement calls for at least 3,700 units to be built along the corridor that runs through Hawthorne, Inglewood, Los Angeles, Lynwood and Downey.

Acting on an appeal by Hawthorne, the panel upheld a decision by federal Judge Harry Pregerson three years ago. Pregerson ruled that the City Council violated federal and state laws prohibiting housing discrimination against minorities and poor people when it blocked construction of a 96-unit complex and placed restrictions on a 32-unit building that made it ineligible for the state’s freeway housing replacement program.

The city contends that the action was taken for legitimate planning reasons, not because of discrimination.

Pregerson ordered the city not to stand in the way of the buildings, and Hawthorne later issued permits for the 96-unit complex on Kornblum Avenue. The building is still under construction, according to city Public Works Director Jim Mitsch. But Mitsch said the city said it would “tear it down” if the appeals court ruled in its favor.

Under the housing replacement program, the state contracts with private builders to construct housing for renters and homeowners displaced by the freeway.

The second building, on Cerise Avenue, was never constructed because the developer backed out of the project, Mitsch said.

John Phillips, an attorney for the Center for Law in the Public Interest, which pressed the case against Hawthorne, said that while the appellate court decision targeted Hawthorne, it sends a “strong message” to all cities along the corridor “that if they try to erect barriers to . . . the housing . . . they will face a similar challenge.”

Phillips said Hawthorne is the only city thus far that has resisted freeway replacement housing.

Richard R. Terzian, the city’s attorney in the case, said he is encouraged by the court’s dissenting opinion.

In that finding, Judge William A. Norris said that federal anti-discrimination laws relate to housing discrimination “no matter where the prospective owners or tenants come from.” He said the fact that those allegedly discriminated against were displaced by the freeway is irrelevant.

Terzian said the case brought against Hawthorne “challenges the city’s provision of housing for minorities and low-income people, tying this to one small portion of the city. We feel this is an unfair sampling.”

Terzian said it may be several months before the court decides whether to grant a hearing before the full 23-judge panel.

In arguments before Pregerson, the Center for Law in the Public Interest alleged that by denying the housing, Hawthorne was discriminating against its minority and low-income residents who were losing their homes and would be forced out of the city.

It asserted that the city bowed to racist neighborhood opposition in turning down the Kornblum building, citing transcripts of City Council hearings containing residents’ references to “hoodlums” and a comparison of the project to Nickerson Gardens, a South Los Angeles housing project with a reputation for violence and drugs.

The city contended that the Kornblum project was rejected because of possible school overcrowding and traffic problems in an area undergoing a building boom. The cap on low-income units that disqualified the Cerise project as replacement housing was placed to avoid creating what Terzian called a ghetto. The city proposed a number of other locations that it said were better suited for the freeway housing.

Pregerson concluded that the city provided no convincing arguments that the Kornblum building would create traffic and school problems and concluded that the effect of the council action was “to prevent low-income minority displacees from continuing to reside in Hawthorne.”

The freeway housing replacement agreement, approved by Pregerson in 1981, ended nine years of litigation that blocked construction of the Century Freeway, which will run between Los Angeles International Airport and Norwalk.

275 Units Assigned

Hawthorne was assigned 275 housing units. Hawthorne officials said that nearly 160 apartments, condominiums and single-family homes have been completed as freeway replacement housing.

Bob Norris, associate director of the Century Freeway Housing Program of the California Department of Housing and Community Development, said that between 1,500 and 1,600 units have been completed along the entire freeway corridor. Contracts have been signed for 300 to 400 more, he said.

While the minimum number in the agreement is 3,700 units, he said an additional 2,000 may be built in later phases of the replacement program.