Homeowners Divided on Townhouse Project

A plan to build 49 townhouses on land being sold by Los Feliz Hills School has stirred opposition among some area residents and split a homeowners group whose leaders do not oppose it.

A group of residents said they have gathered 96 signatures on a petition opposing the sale of the 3.3-acre parcel to the Century Group, a Century City developer. The project requires a zone change, and development company officials have said they have no stomach for a long battle with homeowners.

But the majority of homeowners near the tiny nonprofit institution on Russell Avenue are resigned to the sale. An attorney for the school has said that if the $2-million sale does not go through, the financially troubled school could go under, leaving its entire 6.2-acre property open for larger-scale development.

“I don’t want a development down there. No one does,” said Marcelle Waldrup, a member of the Franklin Hills Residents Assn. “But either you get something decent down there or the school goes into bankruptcy and anybody in the world can buy it.”

The quirky institution on a bluff near the Shakespeare Bridge has been in financial jeopardy since last year, when it was without a director for months and its finances fell into disarray.

The school, which has an enrollment of about 180 children from 2 to 18 years old, has been struggling to survive since 1984, when administrators broke with the Church of Scientology and church-affiliated parents withdrew their children.

The school owes more than $117,000 in mortgage payments and is running a monthly deficit of $20,000. Community Bank of Los Angeles, which holds the school’s mortgages, had initiated foreclosure proceedings, but has promised to hold off because of the land sale.

Agreement Signed

Leaders of the Franklin Hills Residents Assn. and the South Los Feliz Residents Assn. signed an agreement last month promising the developer that they wouldn’t oppose the project.

But Jeff Goodman, a member of the Franklin Hills group, has told city officials that he and others will do all they can to stop it.

“We feel that the school hasn’t done enough to solve their problems,” Goodman said. “We’re not just spouting off and trying to throw a monkey wrench into the process. We’d like the field to stay.”