Getty Villa Expansion

When the L.A. City Council approved the expansion of the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades (Dec. 16), it proved that neighborhood councils will be powerless in the face of special interests in City Hall. The granddaddy of neighborhood councils, the 27-year-old Pacific Palisades Community Council representing 25,000 residents, voted unanimously after two lengthy public hearings to recommend disapproval of the expansion.

Its recommendation was ignored by its council member, the Planning Commission, the Board of Zoning Appeals, the City Council and, it is anticipated, by the mayor also. That is nothing new and it was par for the course. Neighborhood councils can never prevail against special interests.

The approval of the Getty Villa expansion made the day for the Committee to Form the City of Rancho San Vicente. It made believers out of many residents of Brentwood, Sawtelle and Pacific Palisades that the only way we can control our own destiny is to join the Valley and San Pedro in forming our own city. Thank you, Getty.

JACK ALLEN

Pacific Palisades

* Your article on the City Council approval of the Getty Villa expansion failed to mention that the expansion is supported by more than a thousand Palisades residents, When supporters of the project were asked to stand to identify themselves, they outnumbered opponents by at least 4 to 1.

I live next door to the Villa. But does the new theater trouble me? Absolutely not. The Getty had musical and dramatic performances in the past and they were never bothersome.

What the Getty has proposed for the Villa represents change, and some people have trouble with that. But the Getty is offering the Palisades and residents throughout Los Angeles an opportunity to experience how other cultures have shaped our world. This is a remarkable gift for Los Angeles.

LARRY McNAMEE

Pacific Palisades