RUSS REPORT–Last week, the U.S. Veterans Administration (VA) introduced its Master Plan for the West Los Angeles VA (WLAVA) campus, and dog owners are, once again, âup in armsâ about the potential closure of the âcommunityâ dog park.
The gates to the Brentwood Dog Park were padlocked for one day last October, then magically reopened the next day because it appeared, that some last-minute deal-making between âwell-connectedâ dog owners and âthe powers that beâ occurred.
What subsequently followed was an agreement to leave the dog park open until after the Master Plan developed by the VA was introduced in 2016. During mid-2015, the VA notified several leaseholders that their leases would be terminated. The City of Los Angeles, whose lease ran out in 1991 for the dog park, was notified the park would be closed unless the City could find a way for the park to directly benefit veterans.
But itâs not only JUST about the dog park on the VA campus; itâs about the fact that a dog park shouldnât be there in the first place. Itâs about an 1888 Deed that conveyed 300 acres of land to our nationâs veterans who honorably served this nation. Itâs about a permanent home for them to recover in from their wounds of war — not a place for wealthy people who take their dogs to play for free — courtesy of LA taxpayers.
Marcie Polier Swartz, a property owner in Brentwood Village, penned an article for www.Westsidetoday.com in November 2015 urging her neighbors to oppose closing the dog park by commenting at the Federal Register because angry veterans and bureaucrats in Washington will be to blame for the potential âruinationâ of their community. Swartz echoes the sentiment of many in the affluent Brentwood community.
Those who use the dog park would welcome veterans in âtheirâ park but anyone with half a brain understands that not very many chronically homeless veterans are able to have or care for a dog.
On August 29, 2013, the Honorable S. James Otero declared several entities and facilities on the West Los Angeles VA (WLAVA) campus unauthorized by law and therefore void.
Immediately following Oteroâs decision, the Brentwood School and the UCLA Regents wasted no time in filing a Motion to Vacate and re-litigate Oteroâs order. Both entities swore they knew nothing about the lawsuit until after the Judgeâs decision — a preposterous claim, indeed.
On the heels of that decision, an appeal filed by the VA landed in a settlement with the creation of a VA Master Plan after many months of often acrimonious meetings between the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and veterans, West LA residents, health professionals, and elected officials to complete a Master Plan for the VA grounds. The VA took into account more than 1000 comments.
Last week, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Robert McDonald, touted the Final Master Plan that calls for the construction of some 1,200 housing units for disabled and traumatized veterans. The Plan also calls for 700 short-term units for homeless veterans and a village for women veterans who have been sexually traumatized. McDonald’s envisions an entire community designated for the well-being of veterans. At a Press Conference, McDonald shared his vision, âThereâs amphitheaters, recreation facilities, everything for the physical health, the mental health, and the spiritual health of veterans.â
But paying âlip serviceâ is not enough. [Any] plan must honor veterans first by terminating leases of companies taking up space on the VA campus and prohibiting all non-veteran events that have nothing to do with veteran well-being.
Behind closed doors and much to the chagrin of many veterans, the VA signed a $300,000 per year âagreementâ with UCLA to allow Jackie Robinson Stadium to remain on the property. The agreement hinges on the passage of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinsteinâs proposed legislation.
Feinsteinâs Bill, S.2013, The Los Angeles Homeless Veterans Leasing Act of 2015 introduced Sept 9, 2015, became CA Representative Ted Liuâs Bill, H.R. 3484 with the same title on Sept. 10, 2015, but only recently made it to Committee on February 25, 2016.
The Billâs summary âauthorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out certain leases at the VA’s West Los Angeles Campus in Los Angeles, California, for (1) supportive housing; (2) health, education, family support, vocational training, and other services that principally benefit veterans and their families; and (3) a lease of real property to a California institution that has had a long-term medical affiliation with the VA at such Campus.â
UCLAâs Jackie Robinson Stadium was illegally built on VA land but will be granted a 10-year lease that Feinsteinâs bill, Section 3 (in the summary) all but guarantees a permanent home for the Stadium based on the agreement between UCLA and the VA- after the bill passes and becomes law.
Perhaps itâs just a coincidence that Feinsteinâs husband is serving his second 12-year term on UCLAâs Board of Regents. After 10 years, UCLAâs planned ânewâ initiatives will certainly credit UCLA as having a âlong-term medical affiliation with the VA at such campus.â
The Brentwood School insists that because they have impeccably landscaped the land and have offered ample access to the 20 acres of land to veterans where they built an athletic complex (that, by the way, is padlocked from the VA side and is off limits to veterans), somehow that earns them the right to remain on veterans land. Here are the crumbs the Brentwood School has thrown to veterans. OhâŠand they also paid a paltry $5M in rent over a 16-year period. Feinsteinâs bill would also insure the Brentwood School could remain on Veteranâs property.
It took over a decade and a whopping $20+ million to renovate Building 209 on the VA campus to house (at present) 37 veterans who have graduated from a program and are gainfully employed in either private sector or government jobs.
Professor Gary Blasi of UCLA Law School said, âBuilding 209 cost $20 million because it was mismanaged and because the decision was made that the seismic work had to be at the level of “mission critical” (same as hospitals and fire stations) rather than “life safety,” which is the case for all other housing.â
The promise to renovate buildings 208 and 205 was part of a 2004 initiative designated for homeless housing of some sort under Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Jim Nicholson. Today in 2016, those buildings remain in disrepair.
Blasi further remarked, âThe new and revitalized units slated for the WLAVA campus are slated to be 100% housing first — permanent supportive housing. Under the pending legislation, they cannot be anything other than permanent supportive housing.â
Severe PTSD, traumatic brain injury, alcohol and substance abuse and mental illness makes it nearly impossible for many veterans to seek help but Blasi says if someone can get a homeless veteran to The Welcome Center (Bldg 257), there are options.
âThere is bridge housing available from that night until the Vet finds housing,â he said. Blasi acknowledged issues with outreach and transportation but was optimistic about improvements in the future and promised ongoing involvement.
âThere are issues of outreach and transportation, but active work is going on to improve those, including being sure that every outreach effort (City, County, LAHSA, etc) identifies Vets and provides a âwarm handoffâ to trained people who can assist with transportation and intake,â he said.
For years, the WLAVA has been lax in response time to veterans and care has been abysmal for thousands of them. In turn, that treatment has created an air of distrust among veterans.
âThere is ample reason for Vets to be skeptical, given the history of this campus,â continued Blasi. âAll I can say is that we (the legal team and the nonprofit we set up to work on implementation) are not going anywhere and will stay on top of this for at least the next 10 years. We can always go back to court if that turns out to be necessary,â he concluded.
In late January, the U.S. Senate voted, unanimously, to authorize $35M for homeless veteran housing on the WLAVA campus. The money would be used to repurpose and/or retrofit one of the empty buildings into 65 apartments for veterans. That is a cost breakdown of $500,000 per bed — comparable to the cost of Building 209âs retrofit. Approval must still pass in the House of Representatives.
Using veteran contractors instead of government contractors would save millions of dollars in construction costs and could employ hundreds of veterans in the process — a suggestion that the VA will, most certainly, not consider.
As an afterthought — perhaps charging membership fees for those who demand the dog park and baseball fields remain open isnât such a bad idea after all.
About Author:Â Katharine Russ is an investigative reporter and a regular contributor to CityWatch. She can be reached at [email protected].
Posted with permission from Katharine Russ – 07 March 2016
Glenn McBride served as an infantryman in the U.S. Army from 1986 to 2000, including a combat deployment during Operation Desert Storm in 1991.
Founder of the Veterans Outreach Project, a small charitable organization based in Roanoke, Virginia. Questions regarding veterans benefits are strongly encouraged.
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