Getty House Not Quite a Home

Tenant Wanted: Three-story Tudor mansion available in posh neighborhood of Windsor Square. One-acre lot with tennis court. Rent, utilities and maintenance all free.

Despite such an attractive offer, the last two mayors of Los Angeles have declined to move into Getty House, the official mayoral residence.

Los Angeles Mayor-elect Antonio Villaraigosa said Wednesday he would maintain his primary residence in Mount Washington but planned to have his family make frequent use of Getty House as a second home.

“I intend to spend a great deal of time there with my family, just because I think it’s important that the mayor use the residence as a gathering place for Angelenos,” he said.

The mayor-elect offered his plans on a busy day in which he signaled changing some managers at City Hall, thanked in person the California Nurses Assn. for helping him get elected and weighed in on whether the city is getting a fair return on leases to politically influential tenants at city-owned Olvera Street downtown.

He scheduled an announcement today to identify the many members of his transition team, including former Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg.

Getty House, which received a $2-million upgrade in the mid-1990s, was last used as home by Mayor Tom Bradley in 1993. One of the perks of being elected mayor is the right to live in the house, which has 14 rooms plus seven bathrooms, but Villaraigosa said he wants to keep his family ties to his own five-bedroom, two-bath home.

Villaraigosa said his decision has much to do with his two youngest children, who are 12 and 16, and their involvement with their neighborhood and schools.

“One of the considerations is that the children like their neighborhood, as do I,” Villaraigosa said. “Our home is our refuge. We appreciate that.”

Mayor James K. Hahn slept at Getty House only once, for a children’s slumber party held for his son Jackson’s 10th birthday. Hahn has maintained his family home in San Pedro.

Before him, Mayor Richard Riordan kept his residence in an exclusive neighborhood in Brentwood, using Getty House mostly to entertain visiting dignitaries, convene staff meetings and hold news conferences.

The house, which was donated to the city by Getty Oil Co. in 1975, is fitted with expensive objects, including a $25,000 chandelier, that could make it less suitable for a family with children.

Still, it could be argued that taking up residence at Getty House could be considered a move up for the councilman.

Villaraigosa’s 2,442-square-foot home, built in 1909, is valued by the Los Angeles County assessor at $478,000.

The 6,000-square-foot Getty House is worth more than $3 million, but has only two rooms outfitted as bedrooms.

Getty House is five miles west of City Hall and Villaraigosa’s home is about the same distance away to the northeast.

Susan Caputo, head of the nonprofit Getty House Foundation, said the mayor’s plans to live there part time could be accommodated. The group oversees use of the house.

Villaraigosa also talked Wednesday about the controversy over city efforts to negotiate new leases with merchants on Olvera Street.

City Controller Laura Chick said she has sent auditors into the city agency that oversees Olvera Street, a year after an audit found that 59 of the 76 tenants on the street did not have signed lease agreements, and tenants were not paying market rents or, in some cases, any rent at all.

City officials acknowledged that most tenants have still not signed leases and are paying rent at rates established in 1999.

A proposal to be considered by the council’s Budget Committee on Tuesday would allow rents to increase with the consumer price index in the future but would not immediately bring the 6-year-old rents up to current market rates.

Among the tenants on the street, which is in Villaraigosa’s district, are political supporters of the city councilman, including restaurateur Andy Camacho.

The city attorney has warned that the council may not be able to enter new leases for some of the other properties because they are in violation of building codes.

Villaraigosa said his office has facilitated lease talks, and he hopes the city will get a fair return while allowing merchants to thrive on a soon-to-be renovated street.

“El Pueblo is a jewel in the city of Los Angeles,” he said. “The merchants have played a pivotal role in its success.”