Plan to Use May Co. Site for Garment Work Vetoed : Government: Bradley rejects a permit for 600 businesses and 7,000 employees in historic building. He says it would irreversibly change the character of downtown.

Mayor Tom Bradley on Monday vetoed a proposal to turn the historic May Co. building into a huge garment-making center, warning that the development would “serve as a major, irreversible step toward changing the character” of downtown Los Angeles.

The City Council, on a 10-5 vote last week, had granted an investor group’s request for a conditional use permit to house 600 businesses and 7,000 workers in the building at Broadway and 8th Street, an area zoned for commercial and residential uses.

The council will need 10 votes to reconsider the matter and 12 votes to override Bradley’s veto of the project, which had been championed by newly elected Councilwoman Rita Walters, whose 9th District includes the site.

Walters, who received significant support from Bradley during her election campaign, could not be reached for comment.

In a letter sent to council members on Monday, Bradley sided with property owners in the garment district who fear the project will choke streets with traffic, lure away tenants from their own buildings, and prompt requests for similar conditional use permits from other downtown building owners.

“I am concerned the established garment industry to the east of Broadway will be stripped of manufacturers who would be enticed to come to the old May Co. building,” Bradley told the council.

Beyond that, Bradley said he was “astonished” that the council acted on the matter without “consultation with or input from the Police Department.”

A letter sent by Central Area Capt. Jerry Conner to the city’s chief zoning administrator on Friday expressed “major concerns” about the impact the project would have “on our overburdened efforts to provide a safe, crime-free downtown.”

In his letter, Conner said the Police Department would oppose the garment center proposal unless the developers adhered to an array of costly conditions including a comprehensive alarm system, two uniformed security officers at the main entrance, video-monitoring devices, telephones, restrooms and security officers--on each of the building’s nine floors.

In addition, although the building’s owners contend that 95% of the projected work force would use public transportation, Conner said the project requires a minimum of 1,000 parking spaces for employees and 2,000 parking spaces for patrons.

These conditions, coupled with the mayor’s veto, have raised serious doubts about the future of the decaying 1-million-square-foot structure--now called the Broadway Trade Center--which was bought by a group of investors for $25.5 million in 1988.

The group, led by Belfor Shalomi and Amanollah Simantob, has spent $5 million on improvements on the structure, and planned to spend another $10 million on renovations over the next five years.

The group wants to create a center with cutters, sewing workers, warehouses and showrooms in the building--the largest industrial facility of its kind in the city under one roof.

“That police letter is irrational--who do they think sews over there, gang members?” fumed lobbyist Arthur K. Snyder, a former councilman who was hired by the owners to persuade the council to grant the permit. “It (Conner’s letter) has one purpose and that is to kill the project.”

Deputy Chief Bernard Parks said the letter was “intended to bring forth issues ignored during the city’s review of the proposal.”

“The department is not trying to kill any project,” Parks said. “But when you bring 7,000 employees and 600 businesses to one corner on a daily basis and not take into consideration security, parking and transportation needs, you absorb police resources.”

Danny Partielli, executive director of the Broadway Trade Center, warned that if the council does not override the veto “we might as well shut down the building because there is no other feasible use for it.”

Without tenants, the building is all but certain to deteriorate into rotting hulk on a downtown street that for years has suffered from vacancies and neglect, according to a number of building owners and groups formed to help revitalize the Broadway corridor.

“The mayor, who has been a longtime supporter of revitalization on Broadway, must have had some serious reservations about this project,” said Estela Lopez, spokeswoman for Miracle on Broadway. “I hope, however, he understands as well the disappointment his constituents on Broadway will feel when they hear of his decision.”

“It’s something we take very seriously,” added Margaret Bach, president of the Los Angeles Conservancy. “This building is an anchor at the south end of Broadway.”

But Richard Gerry, an opponent of the project who manages six garment district buildings, praised Bradley’s decision.

“We are gratified that Mayor Bradley has carefully studied this complex issue, which will have a major impact on the future of downtown Los Angeles,” Gerry said. “He has acted properly in compelling the City Council to reconsider its decision.”

Meanwhile, Snyder acknowledged that it will be difficult to win 12 favorable votes from the council, which is expected to take up the matter on Oct. 1.

“We’ll be working hard to keep our former votes intact and to present our arguments to those on the other side,” Snyder said.

“I can only hope that for those members of the council who have not heard all the facts in this case, we will have opportunity to answer their questions and convince them the better direction is to allow this to take place.”