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Supervisors delay vote on
430-unit Del Aire project
Alison Shackelford COPLEY NEWS SERVICE,
March 23, 2005
The Los Angeles County Board of
Supervisors delayed a decision Tuesday on whether to approve
construction of a controversial 430- unit apartment complex in Del
Aire, just south of the Airport Courthouse.
After a lengthy hearing in which some residents and other supporters
praised the project and others criticized it, Supervisor Yvonne
Brathwaite Burke asked county officials and the developer, Trammell
Crow Residential, to further address the concerns.
"Most of the issues that Del Aire residents raised today, I think
they have to be responded to," Burke said. "There's no question, we
need housing ... but I think (the developer does) need to make some
new efforts."
John Koppelman, president of the recently formed Del Aire
Neighborhood Association, said he and other members of the
association -- who initially organized opposition to the project --
had worked tirelessly to reach a compromise with the developer that
would benefit Del Aire.
With Trammell Crow set to pay $1.5 million in standard development
fees and an additional $322,000 in voluntary contributions to
community resources such as child care, schools and libraries used
by residents, Koppelman said that despite some lingering issues, the
project is a good deal for the community.
But other Del Aire residents complained that the association does
not represent the neighborhood. More than two dozen appeared at
Tuesday's board meeting to argue that the project would bring heavy
traffic, crowded schools and crime to the area. The monetary
benefits would be a short-term trade-off for permanent changes, they
said.
"The Del Aire Neighborhood Association did not exist when this
controversy first began, and most of us are opposed," declared Del
Aire resident Ardis Dahl.
She and other opponents also argued that the apartment complex would
exacerbate existing parking problems and that a 1988 agreement
barred the county from approving such a dense residential project.
The disagreement led Burke to propose postponing final approval for
the complex.
"The fact that they're saying that the homeowners group that made
the agreement did not represent all the residents, those things have
to be ironed out," Burke said.
Michael Genthe, managing director with Trammell Crow, said he was
encouraged by Tuesday's meeting and hopes to begin construction of
the complex this summer. He added that Trammell Crow is already
considering ways to improve the benefits package -- by donating
money to the local Little League, for example.
Genthe rejected the notion that his company negotiated with the
wrong group of residents.
"This is the group that formed the Del Aire Neighborhood
Association," he said. "They did a lot of outreach. The other group
hasn't been willing to sit down and talk to us, and seems to be very
extreme in their position."
Copyright Copley Press Inc. 2005
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