City Council Rejects Proposal to Trim Fee Benefiting the Arts : Development: A mayoral panel had urged that the levy on builders be reduced or eliminated to stimulate business. Even Riordan’s strongest allies vote no on the idea.

Message from the Los Angeles City Council to Mayor Richard Riordan and his development reform advisers: It’s fine to make the city friendlier to business, but not at the expense of public arts projects.

With a rare 15-0 vote and some pointed comments, council members rejected a recommendation by a mayoral advisory panel to reduce--and in some cases eliminate--fees charged commercial builders to underwrite art programs. The proposal was one of many made early this year by Riordan’s Development Reform Committee, a volunteer group he convened to help streamline the city’s convoluted and costly permitting system.

Ten of the committee’s 19 recommendations requiring council concurrence have won at least tentative approval. But even Riordan’s strongest council allies balked at this one.

Councilman Richard Alatorre, the mayor’s staunchest supporter on the council, said it would be “ridiculous” to do away with the fee, levied since 1991 on most commercial or industrial building or remodeling projects worth $500,000 or more. The fees, up to 1% of a project’s cost, have financed scores of arts and cultural projects.

Councilman Hal Bernson, who worked with Riordan and the committee to build support for their proposals, said the arts fee would not discourage firms from locating or staying in Los Angeles, as long as the rest of the reform package goes through.

Some of the strongest criticism came from Councilman Mike Hernandez, who said cultural projects and activities are “extremely important to our healing process” as the city struggles to recover from the 1992 riots. He implied that Riordan was willing to sell out the arts to curry favor with business.

After it became clear that no one on the council would support the proposal, Deputy Mayor Rae James said Riordan never intended to drop the arts fee, even though the recommendation was included in the list of committee reforms the mayor asked the council to adopt. All the Administration wanted was for the council to study whether the fee was a hindrance to some firms, James said.

“We were only asking for the City Council to look at this, and they decided it wasn’t even worth looking at,” James said, adding that the arts fee recommendation was not as important as other reforms already approved or awaiting a council decision.

Patrick Sinclair, executive director of Progress L.A., a private, nonprofit group pushing for a friendlier business climate, said he was disappointed by the council vote but not surprised because the arts fee “is a sacred cow.”