Politics & Government

City Files Lawsuit Against Community College District

Officials from Culver City and the district plan to meet in the hopes of reaching a settlement on noise, parking and traffic issues at West Los Angeles College.

Culver City filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Community College District on Friday to address unresolved issues surrounding an environmental impact report for West Los Angeles College.

Officials from the city and the district plan to meet in the hopes of coming to an agreement on the various noise, parking and traffic concerns stemming from construction work on the campus. 

The 2010 Supplemental Environmental Impact Report—which was approved Aug. 11 by the district's board of trustees—has sparked controversy among homeowners associations concerning the more than 350,000 square feet of new development for West Los Angeles College, which will result in six new campus buildings and renovations to existing structures.

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In July, the City Council rejected an amendment drafted by city and district staff, homeowners associations and former Interim City Manager Lamont Ewell that was intended to resolve community concerns about construction-related noise and parking, traffic and the elimination of an ombudsman position from original plans for the project.

"I don't think we have got anywhere," Councilman Scott Malsin said at the July 12 City Council meeting.

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Since then, the 2010 report has been the talk of homeowners associations, whose members have repeatedly stated that it disregards a 2005 memorandum of understanding between the community and the college addressing concerns. 

Now that the lawsuit has been filed, most people contacted by Patch for comment were reluctant to talk. 

Kenneth Kutcher, an active member of the Culver Crest Neighborhood Association, said that all parties involved in the settlement negotiations had to sign a confidentiality agreement.

However, he did say, "My goal would be to have not only an agreement that various parties commit to regarding construction and activities on West Los Angeles College, but also a channel for better dialogue between the various parties, so that we can have a productive exchange of ideas going forward."

Assistant City Manager Martin Cole said, "Staff from the city/agency and the district have continued to meet in efforts to settle the matter. By law, those settlement discussions are confidential, so I may not comment further on the contents or the participants therein other than to say such a resolution has not been reached; however, efforts continue."

In seeking a comment from the Los Angeles Community College District, the target of the lawsuit, this reporter was told to speak directly with West Los Angeles College. 

Dr. Rose Marie Joyce, interim president of the college, responded via e-mail to Patch: "I'm sorry. We are not able to comment, as this is an active legal matter. We are continuing to work through the issues with the immediate neighbors and the city. We hope we reach a resolution soon." 

Future negotiation meetings have yet to be scheduled, city manager John Nachbar said, but "We remain hopeful that resolution can be achieved."  

A potential settlement may be discussed during a closed session at the Sept. 27 City Council meeting, according to Malsin. Whether there will be an open session agenda item "depends on if we have an agreement that we're satisfied with," he said.

 


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