$12.3 Million OKd to Buy Court Site in Chatsworth

Los Angeles County supervisors Tuesday approved spending $12.3 million to buy the site of the future Chatsworth courthouse, despite longstanding opposition from residents of neighborhoods nearby.

Four of the five supervisors were unswayed by more than two hours of testimony before the board, which included a San Fernando resident’s claim that building a county courthouse in her community “ruined our city.”

The one vote in opposition was by Supervisor Mike Antonovich, whose district includes the 9.6-acre site at Plummer Street and Winnetka Avenue. The board also approved the project’s environmental impact report, clearing the way for the consideration of final courthouse design and construction contracts.

Architect Louis Naidorf told supervisors that under preliminary design plans for the $51.5-million courthouse, it “would in no way have the appearance of a commercial building.” It would be broken into two structures with a courtyard in between, he said, to create a less monolithic presence.

“The building would be sheathed in natural limestone . . . with no dark glass windows,” he said.

Following the board’s decision, homeowners said they probably will file a lawsuit against the county to try to overturn the vote, arguing that the environmental report was flawed and its proposed mitigations inadequate.

“We’ve enumerated hundreds of objections,” Chatsworth resident John Lindsay said. “How many do they need? I think that this is shoddy treatment.”

Supervisor Ed Edelman, who had voted against a design agreement for the courthouse in December, 1990, said he changed his mind after many of his concerns were addressed.

Edelman instructed the opponents to form a committee to work with the court system seeking further compromises. He also ordered the use of mature trees for landscaping to form a buffer between the courthouse and the neighborhood.

Harry Godley, chairman of the Chatsworth Homeowners Committee, scoffed at the idea.

“Trees? That is not the buffering we need,” Godley said. “We need buildings and distance.”

The courthouse land is owned by developer Alexander Haagen, who also has been hired to build the structure. Haagen is one of the top financial contributors to supervisors’ campaigns and homeowners have alleged that the money bought supervisors’ votes. Board members have consistently denied the accusation.

The homeowner group advocates two alternate sites in Chatsworth, both of which are surrounded by commercial and industrial buildings. Antonovich tried unsuccessfully Tuesday to persuade the other supervisors to begin negotiations with one of those other landowners rather than Haagen.

Representatives of the Municipal Court, the county and the developer said the alternative sites were inappropriate because they were the wrong shape and presented greater access problems.

But Greig Smith, chief deputy to Los Angeles City Councilman Hal Bernson, who opposes the Chatsworth site, said the Haagen site was even harder to get to because its main entrance is planned for a cul-de-sac.

Why not take a closer look at those other sites, he pleaded, “rather than forcing down the community and the city’s throats something that only court bureaucrats want.”

Antonovich and the homeowners said purchase of Haagen’s land was preordained because the Los Angeles Municipal Court settled on the location long before the environmental studies were complete.

Supervisor Gloria Molina, who homeowners had hoped to win over, said that although she was troubled by some of their concerns about traffic, she felt it was “too late to go back.”

Under the 1990 design contract, Haagen agreed to keep his land off the market. In exchange, the county made payments to him that total nearly $3 million to date, county and court officials said.