Playa Vista developers have been fighting exactly that type of opposition for years. And the challenges just keep coming. In the end, it was the toxic gases in the soil that killed off the Los Angeles Unified School District's ill-conceived Belmont Learning Center. Now, opponents of the long-delayed Playa Vista complex are trying to convince the courts to hold up that project on the same grounds. Last week, a trio of environmental groups sued the project's developers, asking a court to halt work at the site until further studies can determine whether the dangers posed by methane and other toxic fumes roiling beneath the surface can be eliminated safely.
Additional information is needed before anyone proceeds.
But we can't seem to get their attention any other way than by filing lawsuits. Flanked by residents whose homes are perched on the bluffs overlooking the development site, representatives from the Earthways Foundation, the Grassroots Coalition, and the Spirit of the Sage Council threw a news conference at the site last week to outline their legal challenge and release information they contend supports their claims. The news conference also drew the attention of Playa Vista executives, who weren't taking chances that reporters might not call them later for comment. They were right there with a real-time response. But little has gone quickly in the world of Playa Vista, where for nearly two decades, environmentalists, neighbors, internal fighting, and money problems have combined to prevent much of anything from happening on the site.