NEWS ANALYSIS : Foes of Playa Vista Project Become Its Friends : Development: Proponents of wetlands preservation settle their part of a lawsuit and agree to back the project. Developers say a major roadblock has been removed.

It’s official: The Friends of Ballona Wetlands are now friends of the developer of Playa Vista.

And they have it in writing, in an agreement that settles their part of a 1984 lawsuit over preservation of the largest remaining wetlands area in Los Angeles County.

The settlement was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday, ending 14 years of antagonism between developers and environmentalists over a strip of land next to Playa del Rey.

Key terms of the agreement include the developers setting aside 269 acres of wetlands and contributing $10 million toward its restoration. Unspecified legal fees of the environmental groups involved in the suit will be paid by developer. Nothing will be built south of Jefferson Boulevard or west of Lincoln Boulevard, the area set aside for the marshlands.

In return, the Friends of Ballona Wetlands will do what friends do: support the developer, Maguire Thomas Partners of Santa Monica, in its efforts to obtain city, county and state approvals for the vast city-within-a-city planned for 670 acres of land west of the San Diego Freeway, between Marina del Rey and the Westchester bluffs.

Current plans call for 11,750 residential units, 5 million square feet of office space, 25,000 parking spaces and a marina containing 750 boat slips.

As part of the settlement agreement, the Friends of Ballona Wetlands will provide written and oral testimony supporting the project at public hearings. The organization agreed not to object to the density and building heights in the current plan. And the group also agreed not to bad-mouth the development to unfriendly members of the media or to band together with opponents of the project.

“We had a lot of go-around about that,” Friends attorney Josephine Powe said. “At one level, Friends of Ballona Wetlands has to step back and say, that’s up to the community.”

Individual members of the group retained the right to speak out on traffic, parking or other concerns.

The joining of the two former foes removes a “major roadblock” to the development, said Nelson C. Rising, senior partner at Maguire Thomas, a firm that practices consensus development and has worked hard to sell Playa Vista to the community.

“It is very, very important that people who have established their credentials as serious environmentalists . . . have agreed with us that what we’re planning to do is acceptable (and) is an environmental step forward,” Rising said.

The land on which the project is to be built was part of the estate of eccentric industrialist Howard Hughes, who died in 1976. Hughes’ company, Summa Corp., encountered vigorous public opposition when it tried to develop the land in the mid-1980s, and in 1989 sold a majority interest to Maguire Thomas.

Although the former antagonists are now allies, the 1984 lawsuit remains alive because the city of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County and the California Coastal Commission have not settled their part in the case. The developer must still obtain approval for the project from the city, county and the coastal panel.

Still, friendships are blooming in those areas as well. Los Angeles Councilwoman Ruth Galanter, who represents the area in which Playa Vista is to be built, and state Controller Gray Davis have been singled out for praise in reaching the accord.

Friends of Ballona Wetlands was a staunch supporter of Galanter in her successful bid to oust former councilwoman Pat Russell from office in 1987, and Galanter has been a key player in the settlement. Davis negotiated the sale of 70 acres of state land north of Ballona Creek in exchange for the developer putting aside 60 additional acres for the wetlands.

At a news conference Thursday at the edge of the wetlands, Galanter joined in what she called “an orgy of mutual congratulation” over the settlement.

Later, she said it is the most significant accomplishment of her first term in office because “this is one nobody can undo, and the effect of this is not only permanent but its benefits go well beyond the borders of where it takes place.”

The wetland area is one of the most important pieces of wildlife habitat in Los Angeles. More than 200 species of birds live there or pass through each year during migration. Among its denizens are two endangered species--the least tern and Belding’s Savannah sparrow.

Restoring the marsh to its natural state requires piping in fresh and salt water, a process that once happened naturally, but was disrupted by earlier development.

Ruth Lansford, chairwoman of the Friends of Ballona Wetlands, has fought tooth and nail for the restoration of the wetlands since Summa announced plans to develop the huge parcel in the late 1970s. She called the settlement “a uniquely cooperative effort between the developer and our organization,” which she hoped would “provide the impetus for the rest of the litigants to come on board.”

“I’m pleased to say we’ve learned to trust each other--as long as it is in writing,” she said.