Rent Credits

The Times did a great service in discussing rent credits (“American Grounds Its Renovation of LAX Terminal,” Aug. 27). I hope the Los Angeles County departments will follow the lead of the City of Los Angeles in evaluating rent credits.

The Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation leased public parkland in Bonelli Regional County Park to Raging Waters Group Inc. for its water theme amusement park, but gave the firm a $1 million rent credit to build two of the rides. In February of this year additional rent credit for $165,000 was given to Raging Waters to pay for half of a new master plan for Bonelli Park. The new plan has the potential of changing an area now designated as a nature area to another designation which would permit Raging Waters to expand. Here we have a triple problem. The public will lose free access to parkland which they have paid taxes to buy, a rare and interesting nature area will be wrecked, and our county treasury will have been “raided” (to use Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan’s word).

When 38,000 county workers are being asked to reduce their salaries, basic services are being cut, and library and other facilities are being closed because the county has no money, I think it’s also time for county departments to stop rent credit giveaways.

JANE M. RIGGS, Co-Chairman, Coalition to Preserve Bonelli Park, La Verne