A federal judge on Thursday put a halt to construction of an amphitheater on the grounds of the Veterans Affairs facility in West Los Angeles, ruling that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs exceeded its authority by allowing the project.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge S. James Otero extends a December order by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The amphitheater was being developed by a nonprofit organization called the Veteran Parks Conservancy for yoga and other alternative therapies for veterans and their families.
A request for comment left with the group’s director was not immediately answered.
Tenants on the VA’s 387-acre property include a private school, a laundry service for nearby hotels, a parking lot operator and a UCLA baseball stadium.
A 2011 lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder challenged the legality of the leases on the basis that the VA campus on Wilshire Boulevard should be used to house homeless veterans.
The lawsuit challenges the alleged misuse of the campus, which was deeded to the United States in 1888 for the specific purpose of providing a home for disabled veterans.
The land was used for its intended purpose for nearly 80 years, until the VA leased out portions to 11 businesses and organizations, including UCLA and the private Brentwood School, for purposes unrelated to providing medical care or treatment for homeless and disabled veterans, according to the ACLU.
In a 2013 ruling, Otero said the VA had abused its discretion by leasing land for purposes “totally divorced from the provision of healthcare,” in violation of federal law.
The Board of Supervisors voted last August to support Otero’s decision, which stayed enforcement pending appeal by the federal government.
The ACLU contends that Los Angeles has the largest number of homeless vets in the country — 3,700, more than twice the number in New York City.
Veterans and their advocates characterized the leases to non-veteran- related businesses and nonprofit groups at the West Los Angeles VA campus as a “land grab.”
— City News Service