Playa Vista Opponents Ponder Life After Dreamworks

By Jorge Casuso

Is there life after Dreamworks? Is Playa Vista for sale? And what are those bulldozers doing plowing around the wetlands?

Those were some of the questions pondered by nearly 300 opponents of the massive Playa Vista project who gathered at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel Thursday night for a briefing on how the Ballona Wetlands can be saved from development.

They watched video clips of the animals that will lose their fragile habitat, heard inspirational speeches and garnered newfound hope that the largest development in the history of Los Angles can still be stopped.

"We are all at risk, everything is at risk," said State Sen. Tom Hayden, the keynote speaker. "This will not be easy. It's tangled, but we can make ourselves whole. We have the opportunity to create a positive change that is visionary."

The news delivered on the political and legal fronts bodes well for champions of the wetlands, who have long contended that the construction of a mini city near Marina del Rey will wreak havoc on the Westside, bringing pollution and congestion in its wake.

The tables, however, may be turning after the abrupt exit of Dreamworks, whose studio project was viewed as a glamorous anchor for Playa Vista. Now, with a state bond measure on the ballot next March that earmarks $25 million to purchase some of the wetlands, the opposition has a realistic plan to quiet skeptics.

"What's your alternative?" Hayden said skeptics would ask. "Where's the money? Show me the money. What do you mean make it a park? Show me the money. Well, here's the money. The money's here."

The crowd cheered at the prospect of passing what at $3 billion would be the biggest environmental bond measure ever. "The money will be here to match the rhetoric," Hayden said.

On the political front, the Santa Monica City Council has taken strong steps to oppose Playa Vista, Councilman Kevin McKeown told the crowd. The council has passed a resolution opposing Playa Vista and wants to explore the impact of the proposed project on major intersections throughout the Santa Monica, he said.