MARINA DEL REY : Panel Near Agreement on Playa Vista Project

The county Regional Planning Commission on Wednesday inched toward an agreement on a revised land-use plan that would clear the way for the massive Playa Vista project in Marina del Rey.

The commissioners spent hours going over details of the plan, including utility hookups, building density and public open space. The panel is expected to approve the package of amendments today.

However, the commission is only the first big hurdle in the way of Playa Vista developers, a consortium led by Maguire Thomas Partners. The plan also will have to pass muster with the county Board of Supervisors and will get a final review by the state Coastal Commission.

Environmentalists and some Marina del Rey residents are fiercely opposed to the project, which will add a new yacht harbor to the marina ringed with luxury condos, hotels and restaurants.

Building the project means sacrificing precious acres of the Los Angeles Basin’s last remaining wetlands, which straddle Ballona Creek and are surrounded by the marina, the Westchester cliffs and Playa del Rey.

Project boosters say it will bring much-needed tax dollars to the cash- strapped county. Some of the money the project generates also would go toward restoring some parts of the wetlands.

Opponents contend that the project will be a stepping-stone for more wetland development and will bring additional traffic, noise and pollution.