State, Developer Strike Deal to Save Wetlands : Environment: Most of the prized Ballona marshlands will be protected in return forthe removal of a major stumbling block to a massive development.

A multifaceted deal was announced Thursday that will protect most of the Ballona Wetlands near Marina del Rey while removing a major stumbling block to construction of one of the biggest developments in Los Angeles history.

Final agreement of the package, negotiated by state Controller Gray Davis, calls for the state to sell 70 acres of prime land north of Ballona Creek to developer Maguire Thomas Partners for $85 million.

In exchange, the Santa Monica-based developer has agreed to save from the bulldozers an additional 60 acres of wetlands south of the creek.

“Those wetlands will be . . . protected forever,” Davis said at a press conference”There will never be any development.”

At the same time, state officials defended offering the valuable land to only one developer and then providing a favorable financing package.

The agreement also will pave the way for massive development by settling a long-running legal battle that has prevented construction of the multibillion-dollar Playa Vista residential, office, retail, hotel and marina project on surrounding land.

Altogether, the Santa Monica-based developer has pledged to restore 269 acres of what is the largest remaining wetlands in Los Angeles County. The once-thriving, but now degraded, marshlands still play host to nearly 200 species of birds each year, including the endangered Belding’s Savannah sparrow and California least tern.

A resting spot for birds migrating along the Pacific Flyway from Canada to Mexico, the wetlands are also considered an important habitat for wildlife and marine fisheries.

“This is a giant step toward achieving our goal . . . the preservation and restoration of the Ballona Wetlands,” said Ruth Lansford, executive director of the environmental group Friends of Ballona Wetlands.

Lansford said the restored freshwater and saltwater wetlands will be “an environmental jewel on the Westside of Los Angeles.”

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Ruth Galanter hailed the deal as “one of the most important steppingstones in a transformation of a long-neglected wetland into a thriving, functioning natural environment.”

Maguire Thomas wants to construct Playa Vista on about 670 acres of open land that extends nearly three miles from the San Diego Freeway toward the Pacific Ocean.

Senior partner Nelson C. Rising said protection of the wetlands is the “key ingredient” in settling a lawsuit filed in 1984 by the Friends of Ballona Wetlands that blocked development of Playa Vista.

Maguire Thomas wants to build 11,750 residential units--more than all the housing in Hermosa Beach--and 5 million square feet of office space, more than twice that of the trademark twin towers of Century City. In addition, Playa Vista will contain 720,000 square feet of retail space, 2,400 hotel rooms, 25,000 parking spaces and a new small-craft harbor with 750 boat slips.

The property, one of the biggest pieces of prime undeveloped real estate in a major American city, was long owned by the eccentric industrialist Howard Hughes.

After Hughes died in 1976, officials of his Summa Corp. began working on plans to develop the property. Although Summa won approvals from the city and county of Los Angeles and the California Coastal Commission, the project was later blocked by the environmentalists’ lawsuit seeking protection of the wetlands.

In 1988, Davis agreed to accept 70 acres in the northeast corner of the property east of Marina del Rey in lieu of $75 million in inheritance taxes owed California by Hughes’ estate.

Standing at home plate on Little League baseball fields that occupy part of the site, Davis said Thursday that the settlement was a good one for all concerned. “I am confident that the taxpayers are getting a fair return,” he said.

“I am confident that the Ballona Wetlands will make a significant contribution to the preservation of threatened and endangered species.”

Davis defended the absence of competitive bidding on the property and noted that a Superior Court judge had determined that the $85 million represents fair market value. Chief Deputy Controller James Tucker also called reasonable the state’s decision to finance $80 million of Maguire Thomas’ purchase for 10 years at a favorable interest rate. Maguire Thomas will pay an interest rate equal to what the state earns on its cash investments, currently 8.3%.

After unsuccessful negotiations with Summa, Davis said, prospects for the wetlands deal improved dramatically when Maguire Thomas stepped in last year. Since then, Maguire Thomas has abandoned Summa’s design for Playa Vista and come up with a totally different project proposal.

Davis, an ardent critic of the Summa design, steadfastly refused to take a position on what should happen with the new Playa Vista project. “The fate of the remainder of the property is a matter that is up to the city, the county and the Coastal Commission,” he said.

He did not mention that part of the two-inch-thick agreement that provides that the controller’s office will assist Maguire Thomas in obtaining approval for development of the 70 acres.

The property will not change hands until Feb. 15, to allow time for final settlement of the wetlands lawsuit.

Galanter, who strongly opposed the Summa project when she ran for election three years ago, also refused to take a firm position on Playa Vista until environmental impact studies are complete.

But the first-term councilwoman said she was thrilled at the wetlands deal. “It represents an agreement between all kinds of different people who typically fight with one another,” she said. “Had this not happened, nothing else would have happened for a long time.”

PLAYA VISTA PROJECT DEAL

A complex deal between the state and the developer of the vast Playa Vista project will provide permanent protection for an additional 60 acres of the Ballona Wetlands south of marina del Rey. As part of the agreement, the state is selling 70 acres of prime property north of Ballona Creek to the developer, Maguire Thomas Partners, fro $85 million. The deal will remove a major obstacle to construction of Playa Vista, one of the biggest developments in Los Angeles history