WEST HOLLYWOOD : Council OKs Complex for Low-Income AIDS Patients

Actresses Lynn Redgrave and Jean Stapleton played to a packed house in West Hollywood on Monday--supporting a housing development for people with AIDS that was opposed by neighbors.

“Every one of us here is just somebody’s child,” said Redgrave, a trustee of the Actors’ Fund of America charity and a resident of Topanga Canyon. “And every person stricken with AIDS is also just somebody’s child.”

Redgrave left before the City Council voted, 5 to 0, to reject the appeals of neighbors who charged that the housing development would block views and increase traffic on busy Palm Avenue.

Opponents praised the idea of an AIDS complex but said the proposed project was too big for the site and warned that the hilly street would be difficult for tenants to walk.

“Not that it isn’t righteous, and not that it isn’t the thing to do,” opponent Matt Gatson said. “This is not a good place to put this.”

The 40-unit complex, which will cost $5.3 million in land and construction, would be the second in West Hollywood for low-income residents who have AIDS. The developer, the West Hollywood Community Housing Corp., built a similar 22-unit apartment complex on Harper Avenue two years ago. Both developments are funded through private investments and below-market loans from city and state housing programs. The housing corporation also plans to borrow about $1 million from the Actors’ Fund for the Palm Avenue project.

Most of an 11-unit apartment complex will be torn down to make room for the new four-story facility, which will house up to 51 people.

The one- and two-bedroom apartment units will cost $370 to $500 a month to rent. Backers said the need for such affordable housing is dire among people with AIDS, many of whom cannot work to pay rent but are well enough to live on their own.

Michael Dwiggins, who lives in the Harper Avenue complex, said the $315 monthly rent takes nearly half his monthly income. But he said it is cheaper than elsewhere and allows him to stay active as a volunteer for an AIDS education group.

The city, with one of the highest AIDS rates in the nation, has long supported AIDS programs.

“People have said this isn’t about AIDS,” said Councilman John Heilman. “It is about AIDS. It’s about the tremendous need” for AIDS housing.

Residents said after the vote that they were discussing whether to launch a legal challenge, but had made no decisions.

Neighborhood opponents appealed to the council after the project was approved by the city’s Planning Commission. Some snags were resolved in negotiations mediated by Heilman and Mayor Sal Guarriello. Housing corporation officials agreed to lower the height of the roof by three feet to protect neighbors’ views, and provide more room for vehicles to turn around to prevent traffic congestion on the street. Tenants will not be eligible for city permits to park on the street there.