In Criminal Scheme to Skirt California Law, L.A. 'Community Redevelopment Agency' Only Reminds Us Why It Should Be Toppled

By Simone Wilson Tue., Jan. 18 2011 at 4:15 PM

Let's pretend, for a moment, that the L.A. Community Redevelopment Agency didn't just defy the governor and violate the transparency codes of the Brown Act without batting an eye in a surprise meeting last Friday. Let's instead rewind to last Monday, when Governor Jerry Brown first proposed that California wipe out every one of its redevelopment agencies -- including the massive Los Angeles CRA.

Brown's argument? All the billions of dollars that quasi-autonomous CRAs spend and make off developers and property taxes should be redirected toward schools, police, firefighters, libraries, etc.

The Los Angeles CRA's retort? Board chairman Kenneth Fearn gave it to the Silicon Valley Mercury News on Friday:

Fearn said the Los Angeles agency needed to keep improving neighborhoods and boosting employment but feared the state would redirect the tax money to other parts of California.
"There's no means of assuring that the money gets returned to the city of Los Angeles" under Brown's proposal, Fearn said.

Chris Essel, the mayor-appointed CEO of CRA

OK, Fearn. You asked for it. Let's take a little looksie at all the ways the CRA has "improved neighborhoods" and "boosted employment" during its ever-expanding reign over "blighted" L.A. sprawl.

(In case you're still lost, and we don't blame you: The CRA is doing its best to transfer almost $1 billion in projects to the City of Los Angeles, where the money and the agency will then be transformed into a so-called "Successor Entity" -- basically the CRA under a different name. It would be allowed to keep the same budget, same staff, same workers-union allegiances, same pensions -- same everything.)

Back to business: What, exactly, has the CRA -- and the city's own housing and planning departments, indications of how City Hall would run a new "Successor Entity" -- done for us lately?

In most recent memory, there was that shady Selma and Vine Street purchase in "elegant density"-obsessed Hollywood, as detailed by the Weekly in October:

[Attorney Richard] MacNaughton is accusing top pols like [L.A. City Councilman Eric] Garcetti, and CRA officials, of a cover-up, of lying to the other 14 council members, and of underpricing the value of this super-choice Vine Street property by more than $1 million in preparation for its sale to City Hall pal Hal Katersky.

City Hall's incessant cravings for profitable land deals make the CRA a great friend to keep near. On the L.A. Department of Housing's part, the Weekly discovered in a March 2010 investigation that one of its grandest projects, "156 condos, called Puerta del Sol, and 378 other apartments squeezed between Avenue 26 and the thundering I-5," was built next to roadways despite scientific evidence from USC that the apartments would cause lung problems in any children who lived there. Patrick Range McDonald reports:

Meanwhile, on the other side of downtown, the Los Angeles Housing Department provided down payments to buyers to move into Puerta del Sol, a stylish condo complex in the Avenue 26 community where teenager Andrew Garcia breathes in the factorylike emissions and particulates created daily by 285,000 vehicles.
Since then, with the city's enthusiastic backing, including that of Councilman Ed Reyes, who represents Lincoln Heights, the village's politically well-connected developer, Percy Vaz, has marketed the project to families tired of commuting -- in effect, targeting parents to live in an area scientists now know is unusually hazardous to their children's health.

Coincidentally, a federal grant of $2.5 million, granted to the CRA in October for a freeway-side project that could put more kids at risk, will now be part of the $1 billion transfer to City Hall.

The CRA is currently allowed to have its way with any area of land designated as "blighted" by its own board -- along with the L.A. mayor and the City Council -- and currently presides over thousands upon thousands of L.A. acres. [For maps and layouts of all affected neighborhoods, click here.]

Inconveniently, though, the decisions do have to follow California Redevelopment Law. That's why the L.A. CRA took to lobbying San Fernando Valley Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes, or "The Worst Legislator in California," to convince the rest of the State Legislature to lift those annoying regs this year:

Tags:

blight, Community Redevelopment Agency, CRA, Jerry Brown, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, redevelopment

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celine2001

Your city is lucky to have dedicated investigative reporters who are able to expose corruption hours or just days of its happening. In our country we have to wait 5 to 10 years or more for some of what happened to be revealed....

Cindykraven

I LOVE Jerry Brown!!!!!

Rick Abrams

Where is the district attorney? Also where has the DA been with all these CRA frauds? There is the virtual open and shut case of VineGate (1601 N Vine) where Garcetti and the CRA fraudulently concealed the CRA's own appraisal of $4 M from the City Council and instead presented another appraisal for $5.4M. As a result, the City was duped into paying an additional $1.4 M. CRA and Garcetti also misrepresented the actual seller as Pacifica Ventures (Katersky and Arnold) when an internal memo said that the real buyer was Ullman. Now CRA and Garcetti want to sell back VineGate to the developer for only $825,000.00.

The City Attorney by law may not investigate corrupt CRA officials or councilmembers. That leaves us the DA or the FBI. THE DA has been here and has seen all the corruption going on for decades to that point that CRA has $488 M surplus and the City is broke. Yet, the DA has not done anything.

We need an independent agency and only he FBI has the power to place people under oath and if they lie to the FBI, hey go to Club Fed. FBI also has the power to subpoena documents. These crooks have a reckless disregard for the public welfare and their brazen behavior shows that the citizens alone cannot control them.

While this deal is a $ 1 Billion deal, the real stakes are much higher. When all the potential construction and fixed rail transit with public money is completed, it will run into the TRILLIONS of dollars.

Lori Sandler

WHERE is the OUTRAGE!! We MUST stop this madness and put an end to the CRA and all the corruption it embodies! Only the developers, like Pacifica Ventures for the Vine St. project are walking away with more than $4 million of our tax payer dollars! A gift to them from the CRA! Please write your council members and let them know how disgusted you are by this fiasco!

Mikijackson

The Hollywood CRA PAC voted unanimously last night for the CRA to follow the Governor's wishes and cease operations. Chair, John Walsh, called for a "Brown-Out" of the CRA - to stop the dangerous "brown-outs" of vital services. We urge and encourage other CRA PACs throughout the State to do the same.

Yuval Kremer

I imagine that the Governor and Attorney General will try to show that this is an illegal/fraudulent transfer (maybe b/c of lack of or insufficient consideration, maybe b/c of the laws on the books covering CRA's, maybe b/c of duties of the Board, maybe b/c of creditor interests, etc). I would also hope that the Governor will closely watch the LA City Council vote, and not endorse or help Villaraigosa or any Councilmember that supports these shennanigans.

Mark

You raise good points, especially since LA was the trend setter. Question - Was this a fraudulent attempt to shield the funds from the State? - Of course.

Is it illegal? Who knows, but there appears to be several conflicts - The CRA/LA and the City are supposed to be different entities but are represented by the same attorney. And the City and CRA/LA are under control of the Mayor and City Council.

Check out Joyce Dillard's arguments which are on-line. Go to www.lacity.org, on the right, city clerk, connect, Council File No. 11-0086.

Yuval Kremer

Other thoughts: the link at the top of the agenda is a bad link (the domain name is misspelled). Are the CRA/LA Commissioners compensated financially for their time or will they be in the new entity?...if so, I would think they would have to recuse themselves from voting b/c of confict of interest. Is the item description in the agenda intentionally misleading?

Yuval Kremer

I looked at the agenda online...it is timestamped, and was posted a little less than 24 hours before the meeting...which makes CRA/LA look bad, but may not make it an illegal meeting. It was physically posted in the Main Lobby and the 1st Floor Lobby...if these were the only physical postings, and if they are inaccessible during part of the 24 hours, is the meeting illegal? When exactly (24 hrs before?) were these agendas physically posted and by whom?

Yuval Kremer

Great reporting, Simone, and very thorough. One comment: the Brown Act allows for "Special Meetings" (meetings that are not Regular Meetings) with only 24 hours notice to the public. Regular Meetings require 72 hours (3 days) notice. The LA City Council often uses (abuses) Special Meetings for the most controversial items, so that the public has very short notice, and I assume that's what CRA/LA did here. Nice recusal argument by Bob Blue.

Mikijackson

This action, the single largest sum of money to be involved in a single City Council action that I know of, should become the poster child for getting rid of the constantly abused "special meeting" provision in the Brown Act. The "emergency meeting" provision is sufficient and has an appropriately high standard for qualification. Some meeting are just too "special".

Simone Wilson

Thanks Yuval... I made a slight tweak to clarify that.

Mikijackson

GREAT blog. It is being forwarded around like mad on the internet. This will be the story "of record" on this issue and the reference point for all others. Congrats to Simone Wilson and Weekly - that includes the inimitable Jill Stewart.

An Update - as of January 18 at 10:30 am the City Attorney has assigned Assistant Head Deputy Jennifer Snyder to review the Brown Act complaint on this filed by Bob Blue. Way to go Bob! The CRA made a big mistake when they tried to seize his property in Hollywood and helped create a valuable activist against their abuse.

Mark

Actually, the CRA clearly conducted business that was not described on their agenda, they revised the agenda and reports after the meeting, and they continued changing report documents during and after the meeting.

When this was to be heard at City Council on Tuesday, they were even uploading new documents after the start of the City Council meeting.

Garcetti and the CRA were caught red-handed.

And this state law allows politicians working hand-in-hand with private entities to take private property and to give that private property and public money to those same private entities for their own private use.

This state law openly provides for "no-bid" contracts, fosters corruption, redistributes wealth, and Jerry Brown wants to repeal it. Jerry Brown is my hero!

James

Message from the Firefighters to Garcetti, the Mayor, and the rest of the City Council who believe in Trickle Down Economics:

"The Redevelopment Agency is basically saying that developer profits are more important than schools, public safety, libraries and other core services."

Sierra

I believe that Patrick Range McDonald is the correct spelling. Since he is one of my favorite reporters, I pay attention and notice a little more detail - Its a blessing and a curse.

Simone Wilson

Wow, duh. And he's totally my favorite reporter too. =)

Sierra

Yes, I said Patick is ONE of my favorite reporters and you (Simone) are doing an excellent job. Thank you Patrick, Simone, and all of the LA Weekly articles by providing the "full picture" of what's going on in LA!