SCHOOLS—MTA Gives in to Business Interests on Land for School

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has put a temporary hold on plans to allow the Los Angeles Unified School District to build a new school on a vacant 13-acre parcel next to the North Hollywood Red Line subway station. Instead, the board appears to have capitulated to the interests of business leaders, local developers and at least one city official who want to reserve the property for commercial and retail projects. The full MTA board met Jan. 26 to hear public comment on the district’s plan to build the new campus at Lankershim and Chandler boulevards. But after listening to concerns voiced by Valley business leaders and developers, the board went quickly into closed session and announced a 30-day hold on all proposals, said Carol Inge, the MTA’s director of station area development. “I think it’s a possibility that, what was raised from the comments we heard from the business community, we now need to consider whether to have a more of a business focus in our portal,” said Carol Inge, MTA’s director of station area development. The MTA’s planning and programming committee had earlier approved a recommendation in a 4-0 vote that would have allowed the MTA and the school district to enter into exclusive negotiations for all or a portion of the land. The district’s plans call for a campus that would serve between 1,700 and 2,000 students at a cost of $33 million to $47.7 million. Inge indicated that, while her board has not ruled out the district’s initial proposal, it would now consider the option of building the school on another vacant chunk of state-owned property roughly a block east of the station near Cumpston Street and Vineland Avenue. “I think we take the next 30 days to work with the school district to refine their proposal to get more information from them about what the school would look like, the parking needs we have, and just rethink the project from a pure transportation planning perspective,” Inge said. The alternate location is owned by the California Department of Transportation, according to Thomas Knox, director of public information for the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency. School deal still possible Knox said he did not have details of a potential land swap his agency may work out with Caltrans that would allow the CRA to work directly with the district in hammering out a deal concerning alternate sites. However, he said the CRA, MTA and Caltrans would work together on the proposal, should it become a viable one. “It’s our understanding that proposals have been offered to locate a school on property that is currently owned by Caltrans, and I know that the MTA would be in discussions with the district about that,” Knox said. “At this point we are looking at proposals which have been put forth by the MTA, but it’s still very premature to discuss. But we all share the common interest in working with some sort of a proposal and it’s basically property that can be used in several different ways.” The MTA’s decision to take a serious look at commercial and retail projects for its open space represents a significant political victory for City Councilman Joel Wachs of North Hollywood. Wachs has long pushed for aggressive commercial revitalization projects in the area, particularly the NOHO Arts District, which continues to attract the arts and theater community, but has witnessed a decline in office/retail development over the last few years. Wachs said there is plenty of land both public and private in the area to accommodate advocates for business growth and the district’s need for more campus space. “I am confident we can accommodate a new shopping center, a new high school and new housing in the redevelopment project area,” said Wachs.” “There is a dire need for all of these uses and I plan to help them all. But the emphasis must be on creating a fantastic new shopping center that will attract new businesses and provide the impetus for the revitalization of the whole North Hollywood community.”