LOS ANGELES : Plan to Provide Land for Military Housing OKd

The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday endorsed a plan to retain a local Air Force facility--and possibly thousands of aerospace jobs--by providing 23 acres at Angels Gate Park in San Pedro for military housing.

The Air Force says it needs the land to accommodate 250 additional housing units for personnel at its Space and Missiles System Center, an El Segundo unit that each year buys about $3.5 billion in satellites and other equipment from local aerospace companies. Local politicians and business leaders fear that unless the property is provided, the Air Force will move the center out of state.

Tuesday’s 11-1 council decision authorizes city officials to begin negotiating a final housing plan with the Air Force and the Los Angeles Unified School District, which owns the property targeted for the project. The lone dissenter was Rita Walters, who--like opponents of the project--argues that the city should consider other sites before using land in Angels Gate Park.