L.A. has unspent millions for parks

Los Angeles has yet to spend $129 million paid by real estate developers over the last decade to create new parks in the city’s fastest-growing neighborhoods, according to an audit released Thursday by City Controller Laura Chick.

Chick said the Department of Recreation and Parks should move faster in spending the so-called Quimby fees, which are collected from condominium builders, to take advantage of the real estate downturn.

The audit recommends that the city eliminate rules that require new parks to be built within two miles of the condominium that generated the fees. Chick also said fees should be collected from new apartment buildings, not just condos.

“They’re having the same impact” on neighborhoods, she said.

The audit was welcomed by Councilwoman Jan Perry, whose downtown L.A. district has seen a surge in condominium construction in recent years. In her district, $3.3 million in park fees has been spent and $12.5 million more is either still available or earmarked for specific projects, according to Chick’s office.

The push for more parkland comes two weeks after the head of the parks department issued dire warnings about the fiscal consequences of creating new recreational facilities. Jon Kirk Mukri, the department’s general manager, told the City Council’s Budget and Finance Committee that his department lacked the money and employees to maintain and operate more facilities.

A booming condo market caused Quimby fee revenue to increase by 14.8% last year. Yet none of that money can be used to pay for park maintenance or ongoing recreation programs, Mukri said Thursday.

“Is it wise to add a multimillion-dollar facility that we cannot properly staff? Probably not,” he added.

The audit also found that the parks department must refund $4.5 million to developers who were overcharged from 2004 to 2007.

Last year, the department released its own report finding that three council districts -- in Hollywood, on the Westside and in the west San Fernando Valley -- had more than $10 million apiece in unspent park fees. In downtown Los Angeles, the department has had to slowly amass the money before making expensive real estate purchases, Mukri said.

“If you want to blame somebody for not spending the money, blame it on me,” he said. “Because I wanted to get critical mass where we could buy a piece of land.”

Chick said the city needs to become more sophisticated in its handling of appraisals and other real estate matters.

“If we had the right talent . . . we could take advantage” of the faltering market, she said.

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david.zahniser@latimes.com