CRA Seeks Move to More Secure Offices

NORTH HOLLYWOOD —  Prompted in part by death threats against employees, the Community Redevelopment Agency board on Thursday approved a plan to close the North Hollywood field office and move to a more secure and larger building nearby.

The Los Angeles Police Department has investigated four threats this year and three last year against employees of the CRA in North Hollywood, where the agency’s use of eminent domain powers to take property has infuriated many landowners.

The CRA board voted to sell its 2,275-square-foot field office on Vineland Avenue for $188,000 and lease 3,583 square feet of space in the Academy Business and Entertainment Complex on Lankershim Boulevard.

Interim agency administrator Jerry Scharlin told the board in a report that the move was “necessitated by concerns for staff safety and security” as well as the need for larger, more modern offices.

The lease plan has been criticized by some North Hollywood activists for increasing agency costs at a time when the CRA is facing serious budget problems and staff cuts.

Scharlin defended the $84,816 annual cost of the new lease, saying the old building cost $74,000 in maintenance and operating expenses last year.

The plan goes to the City Council for final approval, said Walter Beaumont, the CRA’s assistant project manager in North Hollywood.