Galanter Opposed

Councilwoman Ruth Galanter was correct, for once, when she said (Times May 23) that there “is not a lot of evidence” that building more low-income housing in the massive Playa Vista development will reduce its traffic impacts. Do low-income residents use less water, produce less trash, or flush the toilet less than middle- and high-income residents? Of course not! Assuring that 15% of the housing in Playa Vista is available to low-income residents is simply the right thing to do, something that developers in Orange and Ventura counties have been required to do for some time. (For example, the recently approved Foothill Ranch in Orange County provides 35% of its housing as “affordable,” and much more parkland than Playa Vista).

But the Playa Vista developers don’t deserve a $65-million discount on their traffic fees for doing it, which Galanter is pushing for, especially since the developers have applied for the city of L.A. to finance their project with publicly backed tax-exempt bonds and assessment districts. (An issue which The Times and other local newspapers have not reported on.) Maybe Galanter’s huge contributions from L.A.’s developer community have changed her opinion on the project from four years ago, away from protecting the environment, to protecting developer profits.

Galanter could win back the confidence of grass-roots environmentalists by demanding that Playa Vista be downscaled to building only on 200 out of their 950 acres, rather than on 650 acres. She could demand that they reduce their project’s density to one-fifth of what they are asking for, since their project is at least five times as dense as neighboring communities. This is not unfair or unprofitable since developers throughout Orange and Ventura counties have been required to do the same thing. But will Galanter do it? She’s been silent so far, though her deputy has written letters to local newspapers calling my research “fabrications.” The reality is that Ruth Galanter ran for election four years ago as an environmentalist, and has instead proven herself to be an urban planner.

REX FRANKEL

Westchester