State slams San Bernardino in redevelopment assets review

The State Controller's Office slammed the struggling city of San Bernardino in a review of assets formerly belonging to its redevelopment agency, saying the city inappropriately transferred or withheld more than $500 million in assets, including land, buildings and money.

The city filed for bankruptcy protection last summer, citing a $46-million general fund deficit.

The state's more than 400 redevelopment agencies, which used tax increment revenues for economic development and affordable housing projects, were dissolved in February 2012 and successor agencies were charged with disposing of their assets.

The state controller's review argued that San Bernardino's redevelopment agency "inappropriately" transferred $108 million to the San Bernardino Economic Development Corp., a nonprofit whose six-member governing board includes three members appointed by the City Council.

"The purpose of the asset transfer was to protect the RDA resources from elimination," the controller's report said.

In their words: L.A. mayor candidates answer The Times' questions

Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck has a good chance of keeping his job if any of the three most prominent candidates for mayor manages to win. But embattled Fire Chief Brian Cummings? Not so much.

When The Times posed a series of questions about major issues facing Los Angeles, those were among the views expressed by the eight candidates to replace termed-out Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. In late January, the candidates were given several days to mull what they would say before emailing comments back to the newspaper.

Their answers appear in full on The Times' "Where they stand" page. Readers will find that some are clear and emphatic, and some are carefully hedged. A couple of candidates left questions unanswered. But in a race where the competitors are scrambling to break away from the pack, voters can find a few revealing contrasts.

WHERE THEY STAND: Los Angeles mayoral candidates in their own words

After years of historically low crime rates, City Hall veterans Eric Garcetti, Wendy Greuel and Jan Perry say they would like to see Police Chief Beck serve a second term. Former talk-show host Kevin James flatly says “no,” without explaining why. (In answering another question about public safety, James, the only Republican in the race, takes issue with Beck’s decision to stop impounding the cars of unlicensed drivers, many of whom are illegal immigrants.)

Candidate Emanual Pleitez says he wants to talk with Beck before making any commitment. And Norton Sandler -- a member of the Socialist Workers Party -- advocates abolishing the LAPD altogether, calling it “an instrument of capitalist rule.”

Fire Chief Cummings, meanwhile, draws support only from Councilwoman Perry. She says Cummings “has been straightforward in his dealings with the city, and is doing a great job.” Garcetti, also a council member, and Greuel, the city controller, are less inclined to support the fire chief. Both cite the controversy surrounding his department’s failures to keep accurate emergency response-time data: “I believe confidence needs to be restored in the Fire Department’s management,” Garcetti says.

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Other highlights:

Should we keep building a so-called subway to the sea? The candidates deliver an almost unanimous yes.

L.A. City Council approves Century Plaza redevelopment plan

The Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel will be extensively renovated as part of a $2-billion project the Los Angeles City Council approved unanimously Tuesday. 

Next Century Associates, owner of the curved hotel on Avenue of the Stars in Century City, will also erect two 46-story residential towers behind the hotel, and a 100,000-square-foot retail plaza and more than 2 acres of public open space with fountains and courtyards. The hotel's front will be reconfigured to make it easier for pedestrians to navigate. The plan includes a proposed Metro station for an eventual Westside subway.

The hotel will be restored with fewer rooms and more than 60 luxury residences. Next Century, a partnership between Michael Rosenfeld's Woodridge Capital Partners and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, said it expects to begin construction early next year. (Oaktree Capital is an ownerof Tribune Co., whose holdings include the Los Angeles Times.) 

The project was the result of years of collaboration among the developer, the city, architectural preservation groups, neighboring homeowners and labor organizations. Originally, Rosenfeld proposed demolishing the hotel, but a backlash from preservationists and neighbors prompted him to rethink the scheme. 

"I'm kind of delighted," said Jan Reichmann, president of Comstock Hills Homeowners Assn. She said she appreciated the changes Rosenfeld made in the proposed towers, designed by Pei Cobb Freed, to make them appear slimmer and more striking.

The project is expected to create more than 3,500 construction and other jobs. Gensler is slated to be the executive architect, with Marmol Radziner & Associates handling the preservation architecture. Rios Clementi Hale Studios will be the landscape architect.

Councilman Paul Koretz helped spur the compromises between the developer and the community years ago by saying the hotel would be razed "over my dead body." He has described the agreement, which the council approved 14-0, as a model of consensus development. 

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L.A. worker claims racial turf war exists in city department

A manager in a Los Angeles city department that promotes business growth in depressed areas is alleging that he has become the target of constant harassment and criticism after refusing to take part in a racially based turf war.

Ninoos Benjamin, 55, hired in 2008 as a director in the Community Development Department, alleges in a lawsuit filed against the city last week that a racial divide pitting African American against Latino employees has developed throughout the department.

Promotions, hiring and perks are doled out to African Americans and Latinos, with “both pulling to favor their own group," Benjamin alleges. Employees of other ethnicities are forced to choose between one side or the other, or face on-the-job retribution, he contends.

A spokeswoman for the Community Development Department said General Manager Richard Benbow declined to comment on the case.

Benjamin, an Assyrian who came to the United States from Iran, claims that an African American assistant general manager, Rhonda Gaston, pressured him late last year to participate in a smear campaign against a Latino manager.

AEG strikes deal with coalition suing over proposed NFL stadium

This post has been corrected. See the note at the bottom for details.

A coalition of anti-poverty groups has reached a settlement with Anschutz Entertainment Group, removing one of the biggest legal hurdles facing the developer’s proposed NFL football stadium in downtown Los Angeles.

The deal includes the creation of a $15-million trust fund for low-income housing in the area and nearly $2 million in traffic- and air-pollution-control measures, according to Becky Dennison, co-director of the Los Angeles Community Action Network, a downtown renters' rights group that is part of the coalition that challenged the stadium deal.

In August, the Play Fair at Farmers Field Coalition filed suit seeking to invalidate a state law written for AEG that limits legal challenges against the stadium to a 175-day period. The lawsuit called on AEG to provide $60 million for affordable housing.

Dennison said the settlement announced Thursday, which includes the creation of a multilingual complaint hotline during construction of the stadium and on event days, “improves the project greatly.”

As part of the deal, her group also agreed not to file a lawsuit challenging the project on environmental grounds, she said.

Big-box ban targeting Chinatown Wal-Mart fails to get enough votes

A temporary ban on big-box retail stores in Chinatown fell short Tuesday, when Los Angeles City Councilman Ed Reyes failed to get enough colleagues to add their support. The measure needed at least 12 votes, but got 10, with four members opposed.

The council is expected to reconsider the issue again at its meeting Wednesday, but could delay a re-vote until next week.

The proposed law was drafted to target efforts by Wal-Mart Inc. to open a 33,000-square-foot grocery store in the area. The project has been the subject of months of protests from community groups and labor unions, who say the project would endanger the cultural history of the neighborhood.

Even if the measure had passed, it would not have immediately blocked the Chinatown Wal-Mart, which obtained city permits before a ban was proposed. Construction is ongoing and hiring has begun. But activists had hoped the ordinance would come into play if they won an administrative appeal over the way Wal-Mart obtained its permits in March. That decision could be made within a month.

“Chinatown is special,” said Reyes, who represents the community. “I’d hate for Broadway to turn into Main Street suburbia.”

L.A. Council to take up big-box ban targeting Chinatown Wal-Mart

The Los Angeles City Council is poised to vote Tuesday on a temporary ban that would prevent large chain stores from opening in the city’s Chinatown district.

The ordinance relies on a state law that allows local governments to temporarily restrict certain land use for 45 days, which can be extended up to two years, while officials study the likely consequences  further. Because of this, the measure will require 12 of 15 council votes to pass, instead of the usual eight. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has said he does not support the law.

The proposal comes after months of protracted controversy, spurred by Wal-Mart Inc.’s efforts to open a grocery store in the neighborhood. Labor unions and community groups chafed at the discount retailer’s plans for a 33,000-square-foot store on the ground floor of an apartment building at Cesar Chavez and Grand avenues. Organized labor has historically been critical of Wal-Mart's use of nonunion workers.

They have pushed for the temporary ban and sought to block Wal-Mart from obtaining building permits, arguing that the presence of the big-box retailer would endanger local businesses and the unique culture of the area.

$1-billion Village at USC approved by L.A. council panel

A $1-billion project at USC that would bring thousands of new student beds, a multi-use retail complex and needed academic facilities to its south Los Angeles campus, won approval from a key city committee Wednesday.

On a 2-0 vote, Los Angeles City Councilmen Ed Reyes and Mitch Englander, sitting as the Planning and Land Use Management Committee, approved documents outlining how Village at USC would be built on 200 acres just north of the main campus. Councilman Jose Huizar, the third member of the committee, was absent.

The massive project, expected to generate 12,000 jobs, goes next to the full City Council for approval.

The vote came after the university agreed to pay $20 million in “community benefits” that will be used to maintain affordable housing in the surrounding area, officials said. USC initially earmarked $2 million for housing but agreed to the higher figure in recent weeks after intense negotiations that included the area's council representatives, Jan Perry and Bernard C. Parks, and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

USC also agreed to a 30% local hiring provision, giving priority to residents living within five miles of the campus, and to create a legal clinic at its Gould School of Law to help local residents with tenant-landlord disputes.

Will Grand Park be L.A.'s version of Central Park?

 

Will Grand Park be grand enough?

That's the question in the minds of city planners and downtown residents alike.

After a $56-million renovation, the 12-acre rectangle from the top of Bunker Hill to the base of City Hall will be christened this week as L.A.'s Grand Park, providing downtown with its first sizable amount of open space.

"This can be L.A.'s Central Park," Howard Sherman, chief operating officer of the Music Center, said confidently. "It connects L.A. in a way that has never happened before."

The park begins along Grand Avenue with a dramatic view of a renovated Arthur J. Will Memorial Fountain and the tall white crest of Los Angeles City Hall. Parking ramps that once hid the fountain from pedestrians have been torn down, and the fountain is now programmed to run a colorful light show. A new "splash-pool" has been added beneath it for kids to play in.

The next "block" of the park includes a performance lawn, stage, Starbucks and public restrooms. Throughout both spaces there are bright pink tables, benches and chairs, small gardens and palm trees. Winding paths run along both edges.

Occupy L.A. plans protest tonight outside downtown business event

Occupy Los Angeles protesters are planning a demonstration Tuesday outside a reception hosted by one of the city’s most prominent business groups.

The Central City Assn., which lobbies on behalf of downtown business owners as well as banks and larger corporations, is throwing a party for the chiefs of staff of elected officials on the Los Angeles City Council and the L.A. County Board of Supervisors.

The event is being held at a sushi bar and cocktail lounge on the 21st floor of a downtown high-rise on Wilshire Boulevard. Protesters are planning carry signs, play drums and perform street theater outside the event, which has been publicized by the business group.

Occupy activists have been targeting the group since early June, when they came together with the Los Angeles Community Action Network -- an organization that advocates for homeless and low-income residents -- to set up a nightly encampment outside the Central City Assn.’s downtown headquarters.

The Central City Assn. and business owners in the area accuse the protesters of bringing crime and vandalism to a community working to restore life to downtown buildings that have long stood vacant. Tensions came to a head this month at the downtown ArtWalk, when 17 people were arrested after police moved in on a group of protesters chalking the sidewalks.

On Tuesday morning, those tensions spilled into City Hall, when nearly a dozen business owners appeared at a City Council meeting to complain about the protesters.