Secret Deal to Sell Used Cars at Pierce Draws Lot of Suspicion

A Pierce College group’s secret plan to have used cars sold every weekend on a campus parking lot is creating confusion among college officials and anger in a nearby Woodland Hills neighborhood.

College officials say they had been kept in the dark about a proposal to use the school’s Victory Boulevard parking lot for car sales on weekends. And adjoining homeowners, who learned about the plan from students, say they are prepared to go to court to block the commercial enterprise.

The controversy is centered on the Foundation for Pierce College--an independent college support group, run from the campus administration building, that raises money for the school.

The foundation was granted an exclusive contract from the Los Angeles Community College District 10 months ago to use the parking lot on weekends for fund-raising activities. It immediately leased the lot to a swap-meet operator in exchange for a percentage of vendor stall fees.

Foundation officials are reportedly negotiating to sublease a portion of the lot to owners of a Northridge-based car sales company called Car Bazaar. That company must vacate space that it has used for 11 years at Devonshire Downs to make room for a Cal State Northridge expansion project early next year.

Foundation Executive Director Don Love, who serves as Pierce’s dean of college development, has refused to discuss the car lot proposal.

Love, when questioned about the car lot plan, ejected a Times reporter from his office. He also refused to discuss the foundation’s parking lot contract, its organization or how much money it has raised.

“When the publicity goes out, we’ll call you,” Love said of the car lot deal.

College officials said they are also waiting to learn specifics of the proposal, revealed last week by a student report in the campus newspaper, the Roundup.

Pierce Acting President Jean Loucks said she was surprised to learn of the car lot plan. She said she believed that only expensive “classic” cars would be sold on school grounds and that she would have the right to veto the proposal.

But William Norlund, campus vice president, said Loucks does not have that power. He said the foundation is viewing used car sales as “basically a part of the swap meet.”

Norlund said he turned down a request last year to rent the parking lot for car sales. “It was not within the goals of the college,” he said, adding that he would also reject the Car Bazaar plan if given the chance.

Leaders of the Woodland Hills Homeowners Organization said they hope the plan is dropped. They predicted Tuesday that car sales would lead to further commercialization of the Pierce campus.

Called ‘Inappropriate’

“I think a car lot is inappropriate,” said Robert Gross, vice president of the homeowners group. He said his organization recently filed a lawsuit to overturn the leasing of Pierce farmland to a Jewish temple and is prepared to do the same regarding the parking lot.

Ironically, the homeowners group recently raised $6,400 for the college foundation through a community recycling program. In a foundation newsletter containing five photos of Love accepting donations, the homeowners organization was inadvertently misidentified.

Bob Whittington, who operates the 115-vendor campus swap meet, declined last weekend to discuss the car lot venture because of continuing negotiations with the foundation. So did Drew Donen, co-owner of Car Bazaar in Northridge.

About 300 cars are displayed each weekend at Devonshire Downs, said Car Bazaar staff member Lisa Smith. She said all cars are supposed to be removed by 5 p.m. Sunday--although 13 leftover cars were still in the Northridge lot Thursday.

College officials said Love is a $55,000-per-year administrator. They said his closed-mouth policy violates college district procedure.

Norm Schneider, spokesman for the college district, said Love has no authority to refuse access to the parking lot contract. “It is a public record,” Schneider said.

Lagrand Powell, Pierce’s chief fiscal administrator, said he has never been shown a financial statement from the foundation, even though “they’re supposed to publish it.”

“I’ve been asking for them to print their financial statement in the campus newspaper,” he said. “I haven’t seen it yet. I may be getting the runaround myself.”