Work-Furlough Housing Plan Opposed

A controversial plan to convert a Studio City retirement home into a residence for prisoners participating in a work-furlough program has been rejected by a city planning official, who found the proposed Ventura Boulevard site ill-suited to a neighborhood with nearby houses.

“Although the proposed facility would serve a beneficial purpose to the public at large, such purpose could be served as well or better in a nonresidential setting,” hearing examiner Richard M. Takase wrote in a recommendation to the Los Angeles City Planning Commission.

The commission is scheduled to vote on the issue Thursday at the Van Nuys Woman’s Club.

Takase’s recommendation was based on an Aug. 20 hearing during which about 20 Studio City residents and business owners voiced concern about convicted criminals in their neighborhood.

Carl E. Curtis, Los Angeles County’s work-furlough director, said Tuesday that he would still urge the commission to approve the Studio City program, which would be run by a private, Long Beach firm called Working Alternatives. The facility, part of an effort to ease crowding in the County Jail, would be the second of its kind if approved.

“I think their fears are unfounded,” Curtis said. “We carefully screen the individuals who get into work furlough. They are not dangerous individuals.”

Under the proposal, elderly residents of the Ventura Retirement Villa at 11201 Ventura Blvd. would be replaced by nonviolent lawbreakers.

The program would allow the participants, mostly convicted of misdemeanors, to continue working while serving their sentences, and make jail cells available for more serious offenders.

Participants would be screened by the county Probation Department and approved by a judge. They would be allowed to leave the facility only for their jobs and would be closely monitored and routinely tested for drugs or alcohol.

However, they would not be under lock and key, Curtis said.

Takase, in issuing his recommendation against the plan, noted the fears of area residents and the fact that an estimated 63 participants--most of them convicted drunk drivers who have lost their licenses--would have contact with the public at neighborhood bus stops.

Takase also found that the 146-bed retirement home lacked adequate parking for a work-furlough program.