Local News in Brief : Council Delays Seeking Study on Drug Treatment Facility

Los Angeles City Councilman Ernani Bernardi on Tuesday temporarily backed off of his threat to require an in-depth environmental study of the proposed Nancy Reagan drug treatment center.

Instead, Bernardi asked the City Council to wait a month before voting on whether to require the study. That way, the project--proposed for Lake View Terrace--can be reviewed by the city zoning administrator’s office.

Bernardi said he changed his mind about asking the council to push for the study after he considered the potential for future legal challenges if the council usurps the normal review process.

“If it winds up in court, the first thing the court’s going to say is, ‘Have all the administrative remedies been exhausted?’ ” he said after the council agreed to wait until Feb. 28 to vote on the study.

Members of the city’s zoning staff had declared the study unnecessary, saying Phoenix House, the New York company proposing the center, had proven that its project would not affect the environment of Lake View Terrace.

At a public hearing Friday, however, Associate Zoning Administrator Darryl L. Fisher said forcing Phoenix House to complete an environmental impact report might answer the myriad questions posed by Lake View Terrace homeowners. Fisher said he will announce his decision by Feb. 3.

Phoenix House, a nonprofit, drug-abuse treatment company, wants to use the former Lake View Medical Center as a live-in treatment program for 150 adolescents and 60 adults. The former First Lady agreed to lend her name to the center and has said she plans to have an office there to continue her crusade against drugs.