Council Role in Playa Vista Housing Plan Draws Criticism

Over the objections of opponents who call it a giveaway to rich builders, the Los Angeles City Council agreed Wednesday to apply for $87 million in tax-free housing bonds for the developers of the controversial Playa Vista development.

A host of environmental, public interest and other groups who have objected to the project from the start said the council is using a valuable state housing program to fund affordable housing on the Westside, which they view as less needy than other parts of the city. In addition, they reiterated their concerns that the massive development, which includes the new headquarters of DreamWorks SKG studios, will harm the last coastal wetlands in the area.

But most council members reacted sharply to the criticism, saying the Playa Vista development will add sorely needed affordable housing where it is required and that the project will create jobs as well.

“This is not about the Playa Vista project,” said Councilwoman Ruth Galanter, whose district includes the development. “Don’t think of this as Steven Spielberg [a founder of DreamWorks]. . . . This is about the fact that . . . affordable housing is only in certain areas of the city. We don’t have enough affordable housing on the Westside.”

Under the council action, approved on a 10-2 vote with Nate Holden and Rita Walters opposing, 38 housing projects will be eligible to apply for a tax-exempt state bond program. But opponents argued that 37 of those projects are seeking much smaller amounts--up to $12.7 million--and nowhere near the $87 million being requested by Playa Vista.

“Here is a huge developer that really is among the biggest in the country . . . and whether they really do need this kind of public support is questionable,” said Anthony Thigpenn, chairman of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Alliance, a coalition of community-based organizations.

The Playa Vista developers had asked for city approval to apply for the state funds in February but were rebuffed by Galanter, who pushed them to include more low-income housing in their plans.

As a result, the developers now are seeking to build 417 apartments for very low-, low- and moderate-income tenants. A three-bedroom apartment for very low-income residents would run about $580 a month, compared with the market rate of $2,000 a month, developers said. The development also would include 493 market-rate units, for a total of 910 units.

Developers acknowledged the significant affordable housing needs across the city, but said they are offering a chance for employees not only of DreamWorks but also of other Westside businesses the opportunity to live near their work.

“There is a great need for affordable housing throughout the city,” said David Herbst, a vice president for Playa Vista. “This is a chance to have not only affordable housing near where people work, but jobs too.”

The council members, who discussed the issue among themselves and heard speakers for more than two hours, were adamant that the Playa Vista project will not hurt other, smaller developers’ efforts to win state bond funds.

In addition, some lawmakers took offense at the suggestion that South Los Angeles, in particular, has greater needs than the Westside.

In an impassioned response, Councilman Richard Alatorre said: “Don’t insult me by saying that affordable housing should only be built in South-Central or East L.A. In other words: Keep it there.”

It wasn’t only the developers’ plans that came under attack Wednesday but the process itself. Unlike most issues, this one had not been reviewed by a council committee before it came to the full council. Several opponents, and even some council members and aides, raised questions about the lack of a fuller public airing of these issues.

But in another unusual turn of events, the council’s housing committee heard testimony mostly from opponents at its meeting later in the day, after the council action.