Residents Not to Blame for Playa Vista Project Delays

“Playa Vista: A Project in Frustration” (Nov. 1) provides a glimpse into the character of its developers. According to the article, a major component of the project has been delayed because of “an inability to financially restructure the property.” The article also cites “persistent rumors in real estate circles that [the developer] is suffering financial problems resulting from the plunge in property values and office rents during the early 1990s.”

So how do the developers respond to questions about the delay and their financial problems? They don’t. Instead, Maguire Thomas blames local residents and environmentalists! Why? Because they filed a lawsuit to prevent this monster from destroying the quality of life on the west side of the city.

The lawsuit, by the way, will be resolved “in several months,” according to the article.

Keep in mind that Ruth Galanter, who represents much of the Westside on the City Council, abandoned her constituents years ago. Galanter’s raison d’etre is Playa Vista. The lawsuit, then, is the only effort underway to preserve the quality of life on the Westside, and farther.

The residents and environmentalists deserve our support, in my opinion. They are doing the job our elected officials should be doing.

STEVE SCHLEIN

Venice

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I have a suggestion for the hapless developers and a possible way out of the deepening morass of their titanically unworkable Playa Vista development scheme. A conservation easement--whereby a developer donates rights to a portion of his property to be maintained for public recreation and natural habitat--could greatly ease the growing financial distress of Maguire Thomas Partners.

Conservation easements are highly flexible, are written with equal input by both parties and address a specific land parcel within an overall project. They have proved to be an attractive option for developers nationwide because of the advantages they offer in tax deductions and lowered property taxes. In the likelihood of greatly increased real property taxes on any land at Playa Vista that MTP may one day actually succeed in developing, this could be a very attractive option for the company and its increasingly impatient investors.

In addition, state Senate Bill 1280, on the docket for the 1997 legislative session, would allow tax credits for conservation easements worth from 60% to 85% of the value of the land in state income tax credits. When combined with the federal deduction, the developer’s total tax credits would approximately equal the full value of the donated land rights.

The monetary and tax value of an easement for MTP is, of course, only part of the real value to their firm. An easement would lay the foundation for a coastal wetlands wildlife preserve, a truly priceless piece of civic space, and MTP would be seen as a genuinely civic-minded company. They could not buy better PR. It would go a long way toward heading off the growing controversy surrounding the Playa Vista project.

The Ballona Wetlands Land Trust proposed the conservation easement alternative to Maguire Thomas Partners and co-developer DreamWorks SKG last May. The developers have yet to respond.

L.A.’s worsening crisis of open space is serious, and concerns over its rapid disappearance are becoming increasingly vocal, but Maguire Thomas Partners doesn’t seem to be listening.

ANDREW CHRISTIE

Ballona Wetlands Land Trust

Los Angeles