SUN VALLEY : Groundbreaking for Project Premature

A fanfare-laden groundbreaking ceremony for a low-income housing project attracted a lot of attention in Sun Valley on Thursday, drawing politicians and other notables to the Vineland Avenue site and providing plenty of opportunities for picture-taking.

But it turns out that the ceremonies were premature. The project, envisioned as an 18-unit complex with laundry facilities and a recreation room, has not yet been approved by the city of Los Angeles. The city has approved a 14-unit complex for the site, but the project as described Thursday was much larger.

A public hearing on the expanded project is scheduled for April 18 before a city hearing examiner, whose recommendations must then be approved by the Planning Commission. If the commission’s decision is appealed, then the proposal still must go before the City Council.

“We should have held off until we had the hearing,” conceded Nat Hutton, executive director of the L. A. Family Housing Corp., the nonprofit organization behind the project.

The project has the support of the Los Angeles Housing Department, which is providing low-income loans to help fund it.

The plans call for the complex to contain laundry facilities, a play area, a community room and a security fence. It is expected to take a year to complete and cost $2.5 million.

L. A. Family Housing Corp. operates seven other permanent affordable housing complexes, two emergency housing shelters and three transitional housing facilities.