Exactly as expected, the trustees of the Los Angeles Community College District unanimously and enthusiastically approved of the farthest reaching expansion plans in the history of West Los Angeles College.
“The dirty deed has been done,” said one disappointed but unsurprised Culver City resident after the late afternoon vote at Trade Tech.
The theme of the next act in this high-tech drama — pitting City Hall and Culver City residents against the college — remains to be determined.
Will it be a lawsuit, a welter of suits, or rhetoric?
City Councilman Andy Weisman said this morning that City Hall is reserving its options.
“We are waiting to see what the trustees will say in response to our written comments” for amendments to the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Report.
It will not be a lengthy wait.
From the point of certification of yesterday’s vote, the petitioner has 30 days to decide on a legal or more personalized course.
Meanwhile, only one City Council meeting is scheduled on the next four Mondays — the opening month for the tenure of new City Manager John Nachbar, who arrives Monday morning from the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park.
Aug. 23 is the lone date, and Mr. Weisman, for one, will be away on vacation.
The historically rocky state of communications between West and City Hall/the residents has been renewed in talks this summer, first matching former Interim City Manager Lamont Ewell and former West President Dr. Mark Rocha, later Acting President Betsy Regalado, and most recently Public Works Director Charles Herbertson.
Among the trustees, the lopsided vote was a foregone conclusion, as it was elsewhere. They barely commented before voting.
Trustees Chair Georgia Mercer remarked that the West L.A. campus, which opened 41 years ago, “never has been completed.” She said, with apparent pride, that the governing board has been working co-operatively with Culver City residents for the past five years, and will continue to do so.
Ms. Mercer thanked Councilman Scott Malsin for appearing at the binding vote, noted that she resides in Culver City and said “the college is a huge asset” to the community.
Among the 18 speakers, four hoped for a different outcome, including two Culver Crest lawyers/activists, John Kuechle and Ken Kutcher.
The preponderance of voices, as at last month’s public hearing on this subject, belonged to self-proclaimed allies of labor. They said that with wide idleness in the construction industry, workers are anxious to begin the years’-long building at West.
