LMU Dorm Plan Splits Westchester : Amicable Town-Gown Ties Tested by Expansion Proposal

A plan by Loyola Marymount University to expand onto a bluff overlooking much of the Westside is dividing Westchester residents and putting to the test the normally amicable relationship between the community and the school.

Some residents say the proposal will ease town-and-gown conflicts while others complain that it will overburden one of Westchester’s last remaining open spaces.

According to a revised site plan unveiled at a public hearing Monday, LMU wants to build dormitories and on-campus apartments to house 1,250 students on 27 acres of residentially zoned land next to the 96-acre campus,.

In addition, LMU has proposed a three-story business school building, a playing field atop a 900-space underground parking garage, a campus social center, a theater and possibly two additional academic buildings, as dictated by need.

University officials say the project--which would be built in stages starting this year--is essential if LMU is to continue attracting top-level students and faculty.

“We will be able to compete nationwide for the highest-caliber students,” said Roland Siedler, chairman of the LMU Board of Trustees, noting that 90% of college freshmen prefer to live on campus.

The expansion plan hinges on the belief that students who live on campus participate more fully in university life, perform better in class, have higher self-esteem and, according to LMU officials, tend to cause fewer problems with noise, drinking, parking and traffic in the surrounding community.

But whether the plan would alleviate or exacerbate many of those problems was a topic of hot debate at Monday’s Planning Department hearing in Westchester, which was attended by about 200 people.

Some residents said they fear being inundated by the sounds of hundreds of students. Others questioned whether the plan would actually take vehicles off Westchester streets, asserting that students who live away from campus generally do so by choice, not because of an on-campus housing crunch.

“Anyone who says traffic will be lessened is brain-dead,” resident Joel Berlinsky said.

Contrary to the promises of LMU officials, he and others suggested that the university is laying the foundation to double its enrollment.

“LMU is business--big business--and they will do what they can to get their way,” Berlinsky said.

Currently, 47% of the school’s 3,800 students live on campus, according to LMU. By expanding the number of dormitory rooms and apartments, university officials hope to raise that number to 75%, while promising not to exceed an overall student population of 4,000.

The university purchased the bluff-top property in 1983 from Summa Corp. with the $200-million expansion in mind.

It has been negotiating the specifics of the project ever since through an advisory committee composed of immediate neighbors and other Westchester residents and leaders.

Throughout the process, LMU has kept the land open to joggers, dog-walkers and anyone else wishing to sample the sweeping view of Marina del Rey and points beyond.

Father Thomas O’Malley, LMU’s president, acknowledged Wednesday that much of the open space would be lost but he stressed that the property would remain open to the public and that views would be preserved.

“The lines of view will be greater than if (the site) had been developed as a single-family plot,” he said.

The Los Angeles Planning Commission is expected to review LMU’s plan May 7, after which it will recommend to the City Council whether LMU should be granted a conditional use permit to build.

Project officials cautiously note that a lawsuit at any point could stall the process, and some residents have hinted that they may pursue that route.

But the majority of those who spoke at Monday’s hearing seemed resigned to the eventual development of the property, if not the overall scope of it.

“The university is getting exactly what it wants, which is a very dense use,” complained Rex Frankel, secretary of a local neighborhood group.

LMU counters that it has cooperated with the neighborhood and worked hard to scale down the project during years of negotiations.

Compared with the original plan, LMU has reduced the proposed number of residence halls from eight to six, redesigned the configuration to preserve views, lowered the heights of two of the residence halls from four stories to three, and agreed to consult with neighbors on such matters as lighting, landscaping and aesthetics.

Access to the new section of the campus would be via Hughes Terrace and Lincoln Boulevard. The new access road would serve as the university’s second entrance.

NEXT STEP

* The Loyola Marymount expansion plan is scheduled to go before the Los Angeles Planning Commission on May 7. The commission will recommend to the City Council whether the university should be granted a conditional use permit to build.