VA Must Develop Part of West L.A. Site, It Tells Neighbors

Over eggs Benedict and mimosas, officials of the sprawling Veterans Affairs hospital grounds in West Los Angeles told a group of 30 area leaders that limited development of the property is needed to help fix the agency’s chronic budget woes.

The administrators convened the Sunday brunch at a posh restaurant to assure the group that the VA is dedicated to working with its neighbors before approving any plans for the 388-acre facility.

“We have to convince area residents that the VA is providing excellent health care -- and to continue doing so, we need to develop part of the property,” Charles Dorman, acting director of the Greater Los Angeles VA, said before the meeting.

Later, he told the group that the VA couldn’t afford to sit on its hands. “It would be great to have a no-growth strategy, but doing that would be difficult,” said Dorman, who was accompanied by several other VA officials.

For their part, the area residents and businesspeople said they were willing to work with the VA, but would approach any suggestion of development with caution.

“You can’t just say that we’ll accept a broad-based development there,” said Tim Byk, president of the Brentwood Village Chamber of Commerce. “But if it’s something that will benefit veterans, we need to take a look at it.”

The VA has not determined what development might occur. Those issues will largely be worked out in a series of town hall meetings in the spring.

Dorman mentioned that expansion of the nine-hole golf course on the grounds is one idea. There also is the possibility of leasing some of the vacant VA buildings.

The VA has been beset by various controversies in recent years, as well as money problems. The VA regional office that serves Southern California had a $40-million budget shortfall in 2002, which resulted in the elimination of 200 jobs, the closing of operating rooms at two facilities and other cutbacks.

The agency is still waiting to hear how much money it will get in the 2003 and 2004 federal budgets. Dorman said he is optimistic that a funding increase will come through. But, he said, there are no guarantees, given the federal budget crunch and the five months that have passed in the 2003 budget year.

As a result, Dorman said, the VA is left to consider how it can make money from its most tangible asset -- land.

Officials frequently refer to the VA grounds as a “doughnut hole in the city,” because it is the largest undeveloped tract on the Westside.

While boasting dozens of buildings, the site resembles a park or a leafy college campus, with huge swaths of lawn and scores of large trees.

The VA has floated the idea of development in the past, as have area business interests.

At one point, the site was even proposed as home to a future NFL stadium, a plan that landed with a resounding thud with neighbors.

Flora Gil Krisiloff, chairwoman of the Brentwood Community Council, said she was pleased that Dorman was trying to bridge the gap between the community and the VA, although she would prefer to see no development.

“Let’s have an honest discussion of what the health-care needs are, and let’s have a true master plan for the facility, so we don’t have to go back and talk about this again year after year,” Krisiloff said.

Home and business owners in Brentwood, which is next to the site, want to preserve its open space and are concerned development could make the area’s dreadful traffic even worse.

Veterans groups are worried about development because, they say, the federal government should honor its commitment to care for former soldiers and not have to sell off property to do so.