Six weeks after vehemently rejecting a compromise deal on the grounds it allegedly distorted conditions that previously were jointly accepted, the City Council is positioning itself to bring suit against West Los Angeles College.
In the words of City Manager John Nachbar:
“The City Council authorized staff to file suit if we are not able to achieve resolution” before the legally imposed 30-day deadline following certification of the latest environmental impact report.
Since the college last week refused City Hall’s request to extend the deadline — which is Sept. 10 — chances of an an agreement in the present hostile atmosphere appear remote.
The two or three or four parties have not met since the Council on July 12 strongly repudiated the college’s supposedly heavily edited version of a compromise on fundamental conditions governing a major construction program.
They have to agree on the identity of the participants before they meet, and they have not been able to do that for months. However, Mr. Nachbar said the parties are trying to arrange a face-to-face ahead of the deadline, likely next week since the following week leads with a holiday.
Ideally, here is the meeting lineup City Hall wants:
The Los Angeles Community College District, in the person of attorney Thomas Quilling, and new West President Dr. Rose Marie Joyce on one side, Mr. Nachbar, Public Works Director Charles Herbertson and a sprinkling of homeowners representing several neighborhood groups on the other.
The college sternly has refused to consider inclusion of the well-organized neighbors.
Something this rudimentary could be a sticking point. For City Hall’s part, Mr. Nachbar said resident participation was “a request, our preference, our strong desire.”
The prospect of legal action came as a surprise to some at City Hall, given the city’s modest state of finances, the expense involved in mounting a prolonged suit and the chances of prevailing.
Mr. Nachbar said the Council’s hardening of its position “evidences their concern about the issues and a desire for resolution. Hopefully, we can accomplish that in the coming days.”
