Builder Scraps Controversial High-Rise Plans

Bowing to bitter opposition from homeowners and Native American groups Wednesday, a developer abruptly canceled one of the biggest development projects being considered by the city of Los Angeles--a 30-story, 335-unit complex at Wilshire Boulevard and Barrington Avenue.

Standing before the City Council, attorneys for developer Robert Friedman said he will withdraw his request for the zoning variances and general plan amendments he needed to expand the Barrington Plaza Apartments.

“It’s just too difficult to develop in this city,” said Friedman, who estimated that he has spent $4 million on legal fees and other costs associated with the project. “We decided to take our investment and develop elsewhere.”

City Council debate on the development began Tuesday, when more than 300 construction workers joined Friedman and a phalanx of lobbyists and attorneys in council chambers to support the expansion. Wearing lime-green stickers saying, “Yes Plaza,” they were met by opponents who said the project would create overcrowding in the area and threaten a nearby freshwater spring, once the site of a Native American settlement.

After a few hours of heated discussion, the council decided to continue debate for one more day.

On Wednesday, Friedman said that although he had the council votes necessary to approve the project, he had decided not to go forward because he was concerned about the high cost of fighting potential lawsuits over the project.

Last month, the city’s Planning Land Use and Management Committee approved the expansion, which according to supporters would have created 1,100 construction jobs and an annual construction payroll of $30 million.

Opponents of the expansion expressed surprise at Friedman’s decision. But they said that given the vociferous opposition from homeowners groups and Councilman Marvin Braude, whose district includes the project site, council rejection was inevitable.

“In the end, the developer got the message . . . that not only did nine of 10 people in the community oppose this project, but that 10 of the . . . people on the City Council opposed it as well,” said Jon Shaughnessy, a coordinator with the West Los Angeles Community Organization, a community group that has fought the development.

Braude said: “I have never seen a matter before the council where there were so many lobbyists and so much pressure exerted. I’m very proud that this council acted with such independence.”

Critics of the development contended that it would have further packed the densely residential area and increased traffic, overloading the congested Wilshire Boulevard corridor.

“This was already the most densely populated parcel in the area and they wanted to go beyond that,” said Larry Watts, president of the Brentwood Community Federation, a residents group.

Opposition also came from the Gabrielino/Tongva Indian tribe, which voiced concern that the project would have irreparably damaged the nearby springs. The springs, which are federally protected, flow onto the grounds of University High School.

“The springs are safe for now,” said Dee Garcia, a member of the tribe. “But we never know what developers are trying to do to destroy our sites with no regard to their sanctity.”