Westchester Proposed as Site for Police Academy : Facilities: Council will weigh plan by Councilwoman Galanter, which proponents say could save the city $50 million. A site in Sylmar has been the front-runner.

Following sometimes heated testimony, the Los Angeles City Council has delayed until Friday a decision on whether to locate the future police academy at a former electronics firm in Westchester instead of at a planned site in Sylmar.

While proponents of the purchase of the 13.8-acre Westchester site--formerly owned by Hewlett-Packard--hail it as an opportunity to save up to $50 million and speed up plans to expand the Los Angeles Police Department, some council members said they needed more time to study the purchase proposal.

The Police Commission has been tentatively scheduled to vote this month or next on whether to support the Sylmar site, which had been selected as the best location after a lengthy environmental review.

A request by Councilwoman Ruth Galanter to make a $14-million bid on the Westchester property was brought before the council Tuesday on an emergency basis without the usual staff report or prior study by a council committee.

“I always get anxious when a $13- or $14-million deal is brought up on a special (basis),” said Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, who heads the council’s finance committee.

Councilman Richard Alarcon echoed Yaroslavsky’s sentiments and said he was concerned that Galanter’s request for a $14-million bid was publicized in a newspaper article. He said he feared the publicity could hurt the city’s negotiating strength.

“I’m really concerned about what we have done to our leveraging position,” he said.

The Westchester site, near the San Diego Freeway and Manchester Boulevard, includes a building formerly occupied by the Hewlett-Packard electronics firm that is big enough to house a new LAPD communications facility on its second floor.

That would cut five years off the development schedule of that facility, police officials said. Because the building can be used by the academy with few modifications, its purchase would shorten by 2 1/2 years the time needed to open a new academy, they said.

At the urging of Yaroslavsky, on Tuesday the council halted further public discussion of the matter and voted to act on the issue behind closed doors, after which Galanter said the final decision on whether to bid on the Westchester site had been delayed for a day to give police and city officials time to answer several questions raised by council members about the property and the project. On Wednesday, the decision was postponed until Friday to give the officials still more time.

The discussion of an alternate site sparked speculation about the future use of the Sylmar property. The 26-acre lot is owned by Los Angeles County and is located just east of the former Olive View Medical Center in Sylmar.

Only two years ago, the county was considering leasing property west of the medical center for a business park. But because of the slumping economy, that project has not moved ahead, said Les Detweiler, a management analyst for the county’s Chief Administrative Office.

As for the proposed police academy site, Detweiler said the county will wait until the city makes a decision on the academy before the county considers what, if anything, should be done with the land.

If the city chooses the Westchester site, he said county officials will study new uses for the Sylmar property. Detweiler provided no ideas for use of the land but said adjacent residents have asked for low-density housing on the lot.