Veterans divided over proposed apartments on Sepulveda VA land

Proponents of the 147-unit development project say L.A. County’s 18,000 homeless veterans need access to affordable housing. Opponents want the property turned back into a full-service hospital

By Ann M. Simmons, Los Angeles Times

Developers of a proposed veterans housing complex in North Hills have until Thursday to appeal a city zoning department ruling that would block the project, which has been mired in controversy for almost seven years and has divided some veterans.

The Homes for Heroes project seeks to convert two vacant earthquake-damaged medical buildings at the Sepulveda Veterans Administration complex into 147 studio apartments for homeless and disabled veterans.

"We’re still weighing all options," said Dora Leong Gallo, chief executive of A Community of Friends, a nonprofit developer of affordable homes. "We really want the veterans community’s support."

The housing, on land leased for 75 years from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, would encourage independent living and offer services such as health and wellness programs, education and job training opportunities. Although nonveterans could apply to live at the complex, the federal housing authority has made provisions to allow the apartments to be rented to military "veterans only."

"The goal is to provide affordable housing for homeless and disabled veterans on veterans’ land," Gallo said. "There is no other dedicated housing for veterans."

Homeless advocates estimate that there are between 18,000 and 21,000 homeless and disabled veterans in Los Angeles County, with nearly 2,700 of them in the San Fernando Valley.

"The real story is that when our veterans return from war, they have a chance to heal, a place to live, and they are accepted back into the community," said Toni Reinis, executive director of New Directions, Inc., which provides social support and treatment programs to veterans and would be the on-site service provider at the proposed apartment complex.

"This project is a model," Reinis said. "We’re hoping it will stimulate housing for veterans across the nation."

But opponents of the project, including some veterans, are unconvinced that the developers will honor the lease and only rent to ex-service personnel. They also view the 75-year length of the lease as being tantamount to giving away their land, and they fear it might set a precedent for further private-sector development on VA land.

Most of all, opponents of the proposed apartments want the two vacant buildings to be restored into the full-service medical facility it once was — with urgent care and emergency services. There is currently an outpatient clinic on the Sepulveda VA complex. Veterans must seek treatment for many other services at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center.

"They’re taking these buildings and turning them into 147 apartments, when a hospital could serve 200 to 300 patients a day," said Lawrence Van Kuran, adjutant for the American Legion 20th District. "What’s the greater good? We want a veterans hospital and veterans medical care, not apartments."

"It’s just another step in taking away veterans’ services," said Jerry Schwartz, 64, a disabled Navy veteran who gets daily outpatient treatment at the Sepulveda VA clinic. "It’s not the best use of the buildings. We’re in two wars. We’re creating new veterans every single day. Some of us need medical care for the rest of our lives."

Army veteran Tesa Becica, 56, of Van Nuys, who recently suffered what she thought was a heart attack and couldn’t make it to the West LA medical center, said she would welcome better medical care options closer to home.

"I would like the emergency room to return to what we had, and make it the medical facility that it was intended to be," said Becica, who ultimately got treated at Providence Holy Cross Hospital in Mission Hills.

Several neighborhood groups have also come out against the project.

Peggy Burgess, a member of the Land Use Committee for the North Hills West Neighborhood Council, whose boundaries include the Sepulveda VA, said the land was not zoned for apartments.

"This is a total sham," Burgess said. "This is not about housing for homeless veterans. This is about ownership of land."

However, many veterans advocacy groups and former service personnel support the planned housing project.

"I think it’s outstanding, and it’s something all vets would need," said Donald Bolden, 48, a homeless army veteran who served in Lebanon and is now in a New Directions treatment program.

David Alvarez, 58, a retired army combat medic who served in Vietnam and is now in need of permanent housing, agreed. "I feel good that this is basically to give back to veterans," he said. "It gives me a comforting effect."Gordon Marble, 57, a U.S. Navy veteran, said opponents of the housing project were not clear about all the facts.

"This is basically about fear versus opportunity," Marble said. "The forces against this project are driven by fear. . . . Those for the project are for an opportunity that will benefit people like me, who have a history of homelessness."

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