Courthouse Construction Plan Called Unaffordable : Finances: Six projects, including one in Torrance, should be scuttled, county officials say. A potential deficit of $312 million over nine years is forecast otherwise.

Faced with a shortage of money for new courthouse construction, Los Angeles County officials are recommending that six projects, including one in Torrance, that have already cost millions of dollars be indefinitely postponed.

In a 16-page report, Los Angeles County Chief Administrative Officer Sally R. Reed recommends that the Board of Supervisors shelve the construction of courthouses in Lancaster, Pasadena, West Los Angeles, South Bay, Santa Monica and North Hollywood. They have already cost the county $16 million in land acquisition, design and other costs.

Two other proposed projects in Southeast Los Angeles and Long Beach that have not cost the county anything yet should also be delayed indefinitely, the report states.

The only projects Reed recommends go forward are those in Chatsworth and near Los Angeles Airport.

As a stopgap measure, Reed recommends that the county lease space for traffic cases and other non-criminal matters to free up courtrooms in the Antelope Valley, South Bay and Santa Monica until there are sufficient funds to build courthouses.

Courthouse construction funds come from a portion of general court fines, court-imposed traffic school fees and parking citations. After rising through the late 1980s, the annual revenue for courthouse construction has been dropping steadily since 1989. Annual revenue fell from $25 million that year to $16.5 million in the last fiscal year, according to the report.

The county would face deficits of up to $312 million over a nine-year period if it continues with plans to build all 10 courthouses, partly because projected costs have gone up dramatically, the report states.

The issue is scheduled to come before the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.

Court administrators and judges warned that many existing courthouses are already severely overcrowded and lack proper security.

The Torrance project had an estimated cost of $47.9 million and was expected to include 12 courtrooms and 18 judges’ chambers, a large lock-up area for prisoners and spacious jury service waiting areas for both the municipal and superior courts.

The overcrowding got so bad last year that the Superior Court began transferring cases expected to last longer than two weeks out of Torrance to other courthouses.

“There’s a need for all those new courthouses,” said Rob Quist, deputy court administrator for the Administratively Unified Courts, adding that leasing space in the interim will not solve the problem. “Our projections show that by the year 2010, we’re going to need 30 courts up in the Antelope Valley alone.”

Reed recommends proceeding with the projects in Chatsworth and near Los Angeles International Airport largely because the county has sunk about $40.2 million into those courthouses. Both projects are ready to begin construction in the next fiscal year, according to the report.

“The county should proceed to construction to avoid loss of the substantial investment to date,” the report states.