Picus Stands Up for Her Tough Tactics in Battling Developers

In an impassioned speech Thursday night before about 200 homeowners, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Joy Picus defended the hardball tactics she used to block construction of an office complex on Warner Ridge, saying, “Politics is not for sissies.”

The project’s developers filed a $100-million lawsuit against the city, charging that Picus’ actions were illegal.

Her tactics came under scrutiny last week when a lengthy deposition she had made as part of the lawsuit was made public. The city attorney has since asked a judge not to allow the release of further depositions by city officials in the proceeding.

The case has generated a fierce debate over the proper role politics should play in the city planning process.

During a panel discussion Thursday night in Encino with Councilman Marvin Braude, Picus told the crowd that she was only responding to her constituents’ wishes when she led a campaign to block the commercial project and impose more restrictive zoning on the site.

“I had to play hardball,” Picus said. “It’s a tough game. Politics is not for sissies.”

In her deposition, Picus said she led a campaign to block Warner Ridge Associates from building offices in Woodland Hills and to impose restrictive zoning on the 21.5-acre site near Pierce College. Her lobbying of the city Planning Commission failed, but she persuaded the City Council to enact a law that changed the zoning to allow construction of single-family houses only.

Picus’ statements indicated that politics were often the force behind decisions about where and how houses, offices, apartments and commercial centers are built. Some urban planing experts have said that politics should not determine the winner in disputes between the differing interests present in many land-use issues.

But Picus said elected officials should be able to push for what their constituents want. “Planning isn’t handed down on tablets,” she said. “It’s a dynamic and democratic process.”

She said that developers backed by money had gotten their way for years and that she would continue fighting in her constituents’ behalf.

“I’m going to fight to the mat to my last bit of energy to make sure the people you elected have a voice in your community,” she said.

Picus said she was astonished by Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky’s proposal to prohibit elected officials from privately lobbying the Planning Commission. “You’d think that people who are elected to represent you ought to be able to talk to planning commissioners,” she said.

Picus said she also believed that the release of the depositions was a ploy by Warner Ridge Associates because they know they have a weak case. But she said the release had worked to her advantage.

“It’s worked nicely for me,” she said. “My constituents and friends are saying they admire the honesty with which I spoke and that I certainly worked hard for my constituents.”

Picus’ deposition also detailed how she tried to embarrass ex-Councilman Robert Farrell into withdrawing his support for the Warner Ridge Associates project by saying that Johnson Wax Development Co., one of the partners in the project, did business in South Africa. Farrell is black.

She also testified she outwitted Mayor Tom Bradley, who supported Warner Ridge, by getting Councilman John Ferraro to sign her plan allowing only single-family homes on the site while Bradley was out of town.

Some homeowners on Thursday night voiced support for Picus.

“I’m absolutely ecstatic,” said Rob Glushon, president of the Encino Property Owners Assn., which hosted the panel discussion. “She’s doing exactly what she was elected to do, which is to stand up to the developers who have all the experience and money behind them. All homeowners have is elected officials.”