House Acts to Stop VA Project in Westwood

The House has voted to block a controversial development around the Veterans Hospital in Westwood.

The House action Monday night followed a unanimous vote by Los Angeles County supervisors on July 3 to scrap a Veterans Affairs land-use plan despite its approval by local VA administrators. Many West Los Angeles leaders and residents said they were unhappy with the process that led to the plan and believed their concerns had been ignored.

The proposal has involved development of 7.2 million square feet of commercial and medical-related building space on the hospital’s 388 acres next to Wilshire Boulevard west of the San Diego Freeway.

Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles) introduced an amendment to the appropriations bill for the Department of Veterans Affairs for the coming fiscal year. Approved by voice vote, the amendment would prohibit the VA from spending any money to implement the plan.

The House legislation for the VA’s budget for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1 must be reconciled with a Senate bill by a joint Senate-House conference committee before final approval by Congress.

Waxman, noting that the VA development plan is strongly opposed by residents and community groups in his district, called the proposal “seriously flawed” and said “its controversial recommendations should not be implemented.”

County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who led opposition to the VA development plan, said at the July 3 supervisors’ meeting that it was “nuts, it’s nonsense.” Yaroslavsky obtained board approval to institute legal action as a last resort if the Department of Veterans Affairs would not make changes in the plan.

On Tuesday, Yaroslavsky called the Waxman legislation “great news” that will effectively stop a “VA master plan that was out of control. . . . It was a front for a major development project that area could not sustain.”

Waxman said he was particularly concerned about “completely unrealistic” recommendations for an increase to 7.2 million square feet from the existing 2.7 million square feet of building space and the opening up of 109 acres for development that Congress had previously protected.

He said he is open to another plan that considers the views of local officials and community groups.

Angry Brentwood leaders have contended that the plan could lead to the equivalent of “two Century Cities” on the VA land, adding to traffic congestion and resulting in the loss of open space.

Proponents have argued that it is an appropriate use of land that has long been promised to veterans, who could benefit from money that comes to the department through commercial leases on the site.