College Agreed to Help Pay for Wall That Builder Was Ordered to Install

The nephew of a Lancaster city councilman has persuaded Antelope Valley College officials to spend up to $12,000 in public funds to help pay for a wall around a private apartment complex he is building--a wall that the city ordered the nephew to install.

The college Board of Trustees voted 5 to 0 Monday to pay half the cost of partially enclosing developer Dennis Pursley’s apartments, which are bounded on the south and east by college-owned property. The board approved the expenditure after being told that Pursley was not required to build the wall.

But city records show that the Lancaster Planning Commission ordered Pursley to install a wall along the project’s 1,300-foot southern and eastern boundaries when construction of the 70-unit Woodbridge Apartments was approved in November, 1985.

Forgot About Order

On Wednesday, Pursley denied any attempt to mislead college officials. He said he forgot about the 1985 city requirement when he asked the college to help pay for the wall.

Pursley acknowledged that the requirement “changes the story a little bit.” But Pursley said he would still like to receive the college’s money.

“I’d be a fool to say no,” he said. “I’m always looking for somebody to help pay for something.”

The 38-year-old Lancaster resident is a nephew of Councilman William Pursley, a real estate broker who was elected in March. The 61-year-old councilman and his nephew said they each own 25% of the apartment project, which soon will open its first phase of 22 two-bedroom apartments. But the councilman said he knew nothing about the wall or the college funding.

The younger Pursley on Wednesday said he rediscovered the wall requirement while reviewing project documents after college Vice President William Fellers told him that The Times was looking into the matter.

The decision on whether the agreement will proceed rests with the college, which owns the vacant land on the eastern and southern boundaries of Pursley’s 7.5-acre site at the southwest corner of Avenue J-8 and 32nd Street West.

Unusual Use

If the college proceeds with the agreement, it would be an unusual use of public funds because the money would benefit, at least in part, a specific private business. The decision to help pay for the wall comes while the college is straining to provide services needed by its fast-growing enrollment.

Pursley said he is scheduled to meet with Fellers on Friday to discuss the matter.

Fellers arranged the agreement at Pursley’s suggestion, according to Fellers and Pursley. Fellers recommended its approval by the college’s governing board Monday night after relaying Pursley’s claim that he had no obligation to build the wall. Fellers could not be reached Wednesday for comment.

Lancaster city planners said perimeter block walls, required by city ordinance to be at least five feet high, are frequently required for such apartment projects. In an interview Monday, Fellers said he had not checked whether Pursley was required to build the wall.

“There’s no law that says he has to put up a wall,” Fellers told the college board members Monday. “So he could just leave it.”

Agreement Approved

Board members approved the agreement to split the cost of the wall with Pursley.

“We ought to take that. That’s a bargain,” said board member Dr. Herman Kicenski of the $12,000 cost.

“It would improve the whole project, his and ours, 150%,” Kicenski said. Board members said the wall would improve security and separate the campus from Pursley’s apartments.

Asked why the college should still proceed, Pursley said that without the college’s participation, he would delay building part of the wall.

He said he would build the rest of the wall when later phases of his project are built. The city ruling calls for the wall to be completed along the project’s property lines “prior to occupancy.”