MISSION IMPLACABLE COLLEGE WON'T ALTER EXPANSION PLAN, DESPITE OPPOSITION.

Byline: LISA M. SODDERS Staff Writer

SYLMAR -- Forced to abandon a land swap that would have allowed the expansion of Mission College, officials now plan to use eminent domain to acquire property they need to complete an ambitious building program.

Landowner Comstock Homes and neighbors of the 7-acre parcel at Eldridge Avenue and Harding Street are vehemently opposed to the plan by the Los Angeles Community College District to take the property by condemnation.

``I'm mad as hell,'' said Ron Maizland, who has lived in the neighborhood for 43 years. ``We'll fight them to the bitter end. We don't like being pushed around, and they want to ram this down our throats.''

Under plans now being debated, the property owned by Comstock Homes would be combined with about three acres the district wants to purchase from St. Ephraim's Church. It would be used as the site for a health building, classrooms and a parking garage for the 7,300-student campus.

At a recent community meeting on the campus's master plan, Brad Porter, vice president for development for Comstock, said the district had offered the company just half of what it had paid for the land.

``We can't stop anyone from starting an eminent domain,'' Porter said. ``But we're a neighbor now, and we're going to fight with you. It's not for sale.''

But district officials and documents show that the district offered Comstock $5.4 million for the land, which the developer purchased in March for $4.7 million.

Porter later described the district's offer as ``substandard.''

Comstock plans to use its land to develop 44 single-family homes that would sell for $600,000 to $700,000 each, Porter said.

The Sylmar-based college recently had to abandon its plan to expand by swapping parcels with Los Angeles County and the Army Corps of Engineers because of unresolved legal issues.

District officials say the latest plan isn't the only option as Mission updates its master plan. Mission also is considering plans to build on the existing 22.5-acre campus -- the smallest in the nine-college district -- although officials say they'd have to build underground and the resulting layout would be crowded.

At the heart of the debate is how the land could best be used to the benefit of the community.

Comstock and residents say the construction of 44 new homes would enhance the community and increase the value of existing homes. They worry about traffic, litter, pollution and other quality-of-life issues if the district builds college buildings on the site.

``They're forcing me out,'' said neighbor Al Dib, who coincidentally is a member of the city's Relocations Appeals Board.

``When you do an eminent domain on that property, you're doing an eminent domain on the whole neighborhood,'' he said.

But Larry Eisenberg, the district's executive director for facilities management, said having college buildings in the neighborhood would enhance the value of surrounding homes and become a community asset.

``The health and fitness facility there will be like one of the best athletic clubs around and the community would be welcome to come and use the facility,'' he said.

lisa.sodders(at)dailynews.com

[phone]

Mission College

A public hearing on the Mission College master plan will be held 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Campus Center, 13356 Eldridge Ave.

Mail comments on the master plan to Construction Manager Nick Quintanilla, Gageway Science and Engineering, Mission College, 13356 Eldridge Ave., Sylmar 91342; fax to [phone]; or e-mail michele.walters(at)propositiona.org.

For more information on the master plan, see www.propositiona.org or www.lamission.edu.

CAPTION(S):

box, map

Box:

Mission College (See Text)

Map:

Updating the Mission College Master Plan

Source: Leo A. Daly

Daily News