SACRAMENTO -- — A developer and major campaign contributor who wants to build homes on what is now the Verdugo Hills Golf Course has arranged state legislation that would stymie an effort by the city of Los Angeles to block the project.
The legislation was written by Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes (D-Sylmar) in collaboration with a company that has an agreement with the property's owner to develop the site.
The company, MWH Development Corp., wants to construct 229 homes to replace the 63-acre golf course in Tujunga, which is not in Fuentes' Assembly district. The firm is headed by San Fernando Valley developer Mark Handel, who said former Los Angeles Building Commission President Scott Z. Adler is a partner in the project.
Handel, Adler and other business associates backing the bill have given more than $16,000 to Fuentes' political campaigns in the last two years -- much of it three months before the bill was rewritten -- sparking criticism that Fuentes customized legislation for his donors.
"An Assembly person should not be writing exceptions to the city law to benefit donors, friends or any other person," said Kathay Feng, president of California Common Cause.
The bill has outraged members of the City Council and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, who have voted to oppose the legislation and have asked their Sacramento lobbyists to try to kill the measure.
"I was disgusted," said Councilwoman Wendy Greuel. "We believe Sacramento should not be trying to dictate land-use policy on city matters. We also don't believe legislation should be designed to benefit one developer."
Fuentes said one of his priorities as a lawmaker is to address the Los Angeles housing crisis. His bill, he said, responds to a concern of home builders that projects allowed by a city's long-term planning guidelines can be blocked by local officials through changes to the plans.
"It's about giving people who are building homes some continuity when they submit their applications," Fuentes said.
He said the legislation was an early draft, and he plans "on working with [city officials] and hearing their concerns."
The dispute, which began about a year ago, involves Los Angeles community plans, which are long-term blueprints for how property in an area should be developed.
