Development And Redevelopment

The Bush administration appears poised to push through a change in U.S. Forest Service agreements that would make it far easier for mountain forests to be converted to housing subdivisions. Mark Rey, the former timber lobbyist who heads the Forest Service, last week signaled his intent to formalize the controversial change before the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama.

Even as the University of California and California State University grapple with construction shutdowns, the Los Angeles Community College District on Wednesday awarded $400 million in new building contracts, the latest phase in a $5.7-billion construction program that experts describe as one of the biggest college public works projects in the nation.

An Australian company announced Thursday it had suspended its plan to build a controversial offshore liquid natural gas terminal 27 miles from Los Angeles International Airport, citing the downturn in the world economy. A spokeswoman for Woodside Natural Gas said the company planned to bring the project back when conditions changed. "Woodside's in this for the long haul," said Laura Doll, the company's vice president for public and governmental affairs.

When Mayor David Perez of the city of Industry looks out over the rolling, 600-acre site on his city's eastern edge, he sees the future home of an NFL stadium and an economic engine that would bring jobs and tax revenue for the entire region. When Joaquin Lim, the mayor of nearby Walnut, imagines a stadium there, he sees a potential disaster: traffic, noise and "passionate, emotional" football fans.

Voters in Industry approved the sale of up to $500 million in bonds for infrastructure improvements in their city, including some that would support a planned $800-million NFL stadium. The stadium, which was proposed last year by billionaire Ed Roski, would be built by Roski on 600 acres of city-owned land as part of a massive development that would also include retail and office space, as well as practice fields and banquet facilities.

Kate Cannon gazed across the high red desert to the snowy La Sal Mountains rising in sharp relief at the horizon. That view of uninterrupted nature is what draws nearly a million yearly visitors to this remote part of southeast Utah. "Look at the mountains," said Cannon, superintendent of Arches and neighboring Canyonlands national parks. "You can see them. Part of the majesty of this country is the grand sweeping views. The visitors do love it."

The humble yellow flower isn't exactly a showstopper. But to those who want to see development take root in the rugged hills of south Laguna Beach, the big-leaved crownbeard might be just that. Unlike the spotted owl or the California desert tortoise -- threatened superstars with reputations for slowing development, the crownbeard is something of a bit player. It only grows in two places, neither of which would be confused with pristine wilderness or majestic national parkland.

The housing boom may be bust and the economy may be circling the drain, but that hasn't stopped the design of Orange County's Great Park from being completed. Even the smallest detail is intricately considered in the extensive plans for the Irvine park. A model shows visitors at the northwest entrance parked on dirt roads flanked by jagged slabs of recycled concrete that look almost native to the environment. Shade structures replicate the look of floating clouds.

Growth and development issues on Los Angeles' crowded Westside often leave residents roiling over how best to keep it vibrant without eroding neighborhood life. In recent days, Times editors posed various questions to the candidates seeking the region's 5th District City Council seat in the March 3 primary. Here are excerpts from their responses to this question: What approach will you use to evaluate real estate development projects in the district?

The little tortilleria, hidden away in the Florence-Firestone neighborhood near Watts, could be mistaken for a thousand others in the city's immigrant core. It's on a mostly residential stretch of Nadeau Street, a few blocks removed from commercial corridors where the buildings that look newer than others nearby are the ones that were rebuilt after the 1992 riots. Playa Azul is a family business, and pork is the house specialty.