L.A. Hopes to Lure Teachers With Housing

In an attempt to recruit teachers for public schools, the city of Los Angeles is developing a plan to build as many as 5,000 housing units at the Chatsworth Reservoir, an abandoned facility that has become a wildlife refuge, City Hall sources said Friday.

The plan is in a “very preliminary” stage, according to Deputy Mayor Mark Fabiani, who said the high cost of housing in Southern California makes it difficult to recruit and keep teachers.

“The idea is to provide affordable housing for teachers who are willing to dedicate part of their teaching career to working in public schools that have been especially hard hit by gangs and drugs,” Fabiani said. “It’s becoming increasingly difficult to attract teachers to these schools.”

The plan, which had not previously been made public, is expected to encounter strong opposition from community groups. Councilman Hal Bernson, in whose district the reservoir is located, will oppose any plan to develop the area, an aide said Friday.

One City Hall source involved in the project said that plans now under discussion call for construction of 5,000 housing units, 500 of which would be set aside for UCLA faculty members. Single-family homes or townhouses in the development would be rented for about $1,200 a month, the source said.

The development may be carried out as a joint project, with the UCLA School of Architecture and Urban Planning participating in its design, the source said.

Fabiani said Friday that the plans are so preliminary that the probable size of the development, including the number of housing units, is not yet known. However, he confirmed that UCLA has been approached about participating in the project.

“It’s becoming increasingly difficult for even schools such as UCLA and other public universities to attract qualified teachers to Southern California because of the price of housing,” Fabiani said.

“Our notion was that perhaps using some city land in a cooperative effort with some public universities such as UCLA and others, we could construct housing that would be affordable to public school teachers,” he said.

Fabiani said that it is unclear how the project would be developed and financed but that the options include a joint city-UCLA venture or an arrangement with a developer who might lease the land from the city under stringent conditions.

Fabiani also said that if opposition to the site is too strong, a similar plan might be carried out at some other location in the city.

The land, about 1,200 acres in the western San Fernando Valley, belongs to the city’s Department of Water and Power, and the Recreation and Parks Department has the first right to purchase it if DWP decides to sell it. The reservoir has been empty since it was damaged in the 1971 Sylmar earthquake.

In the past, development plans--including a recent proposal to construct a golf course--have met with strong local opposition.

Greig Smith, chief deputy to Councilman Bernson, said Friday that neither he nor Bernson had been informed about the plan to build housing on the site.

“We would definitely be opposed to it,” Smith said. “It’s a very ecologically sensitive area. . . . There’s a lot of wildlife there and we want to keep it that way.”

The land has become part of a flyway for migrating Canada geese, Smith said, as well as a habitat for fish. It also is home to deer.

“Every other year or so they (DWP officials) come and say, ‘Gee, can’t we sell it?’ and we say no,” Smith said.

Fabiani said Friday that the proposal originated in the mayor’s office. He expressed concern about it being publicly disclosed before Bernson and others were notified about it.

“Before we decide anything about the size of the development and about the way the development will be integrated with the surrounding community, we will obviously have to spend a great deal of time with Councilman Bernson and with homeowners groups,” Fabiani said.

“We certainly don’t want folks to feel that we are running around promoting ideas that affect their districts and affect the school system without talking to them.”

Sources said a meeting with school district officials is scheduled for next week.

Irene Yamahara, the Los Angeles Unified School District’s associate superintendent for personnel, said housing costs pose a problem for only a small percentage--between 5% and 10%--of teachers they recruit each year. About 70% of their new teachers are from Southern California, and most of the rest are from other areas in the state, she said.

The district has about 27,000 teachers who work in city and some county schools.

A beginning teacher makes about $27,400 a year, so at $1,200 a month, the homes would be relatively expensive for new teacher recruits.

Catherine M. Carey, a spokeswoman for United Teachers-Los Angeles, said Friday that she was unaware of the proposal and questioned its practicality.

“Mostly, people want to work near where they live, so they don’t want to have to hit the freeways in the morning for an hour-and-a-half drive,” Carey said. “In asking for specific assignments, teachers basically want to teach near where they live.”

Fabiani said, “People commute even farther than that in the search for affordable housing these days. People who are working in Los Angeles are living in San Bernardino and Riverside.”

As part of the proposal, a transportation system including shuttle buses and car and van pools would be developed, he said.

Fabiani emphasized that many of the details of the plan, including who would develop it and whether the houses would be sold or rented, have not been worked out.

Sam Morabito, UCLA’s assistant vice chancellor for business enterprises, said the university had one “very preliminary” discussion with the city about the housing plan.

“The thinking is that (the reservoir) could be perhaps redeveloped or developed into affordable housing for a variety of people, primarily education-related types,” he said. “The thinking has not gone beyond the idea.

“We are at least interested in hearing more about what the city has in mind,” he said.

According to Morabito, the cost of housing in Los Angeles, particularly on the Westside, makes it difficult to attract talented faculty prospects from other parts of the nation. “So we are always looking for potential sites. . . . If the city is going to do something out there, we may have some interest.”

However, he said the Chatsworth area may be too far away for commuting to the Westwood campus and that most faculty members want to live near the school.

In the last few years, UCLA has created two housing projects for faculty: a group of 58 townhouses in Beverly Glen, which sold for $155,000 to $255,000 in 1986; and a 32-unit building in Westwood, where condominiums sold last year for $140,000 to $300,000. The units all sold for below market prices and have tough resale restrictions.

UCLA is also planning 86 single-family homes in the Westchester Bluffs area near Playa Vista. But that is still in the permit process. Those large houses may sell for more than $500,000--and that would be a bargain for the Westside, Morabito said.

Times staff writer Larry Gordon contributed to this story.