LAT20170111

A12 WEDNESDAY,JANUARY11, 2017 WSCE LATIMES.COM

“There has been a widely
held perception that badde-
velopment decisions get
madeatthecityasaresultof
the relationships that devel-
opers have with council
members through cam-
paign contributions,” Kre-
korian said.“And I think it’s
important that we dispel
that perception.”
The ban isbeing pushed
at a time of i ncreased scru-
tiny of real estate devel-
opers, their fundraising ac-
tivities and their political
clout at City Hall.
Withamunicipalelection
two months away, Mayor

Eric Garcetti and several

council members facechal-

lengers who have been high-

lighting public frustration

over large-scale devel-

opment projects. A bruising

campaign is underway over

aballot measure that would

temporarily halt the approv-

al of some building projects.

The proposed ban also

followsa seriesof s tories by

The Times about the influx

of politicalcontributions as

developmentprojectsarere-

viewed at City Hall.

In October, a Times

investigation found that

donors with direct and indi-

rect ties to real estate devel-

oper Samuel Leung gave

more than $600,000to sup-

portL.A. -area politicians as

his 352-unit Sea Breeze

apartment projectwas be-

ing vetted at City Hall. Sea

Breeze was app rove d over

the objections of both city

planners and Garcetti’s own

appointees.

The Times also exam-

ined campaign contrib-

utions made by business-

man Rick Caruso, thedevel-

oper ofa 20-storyapartment

project being considered

near the Beverly Center. Ca-

ruso and his associates have

provided morethan $476,

to L.A. politicians and their

pet causes over the lastfive

years.

Backers of Measure S,

whichtakesaimatdevel-

opment projectsthat need

zoning changesand other

special approvals, praised

councilmembersforpropos-

ing the ban. Butthey also

said the proposal backed up

their claim that donations

are corruptingthe planning

process.

“It’s an admission of

guilt,” said Richard Close,

president of the Sherman

Oaks Homeowners Assn.

and a proponent ofMeasure

S.

Opponents ofMeasure S

said theywere also pleased

by the proposed ban,argu-

ing that ittackles issues the

ballot measure failsto ad-

dress. But some business

leaders questioned the nar-

row focus on developers.

Stuart Waldman, president

of theValley Industry and

Commerce Assn., argued

that other donors also have

astake in the city’s planning

process.

“If they’re going to ban

contributions from devel-

opers, then they shouldban

themfromlaborunionstoo,”

Waldman said.

Los Angeles already pro-

hibits political contrib-

utionsfrom companies that

are bidding on city con-

tracts.Expanding that ban

to real estate interestscould

spark a legalchallenge,ex-

perts said.

“If you’re a real estate de-

veloper who is suddenlytold

thatyou can’tcontribute, I

think there’s no question

thata challenge would be

brought,” said Derek Muller,

associate professor at

Pepperdine University

School of Law. “It would be a

close call fora court.”

Ryu,oneof the authors of

the proposedban, pledged

not to accept campaign con-

tributionsfrom developers

withcurrent or upcoming

city projects when he ran for

office in 2015. The city should

ban suchdonations citywide

to restor e trust withvoters,

he said.

Still,the proposal may

not ultimatelycove r some of

the biggest recipients of de-

velopers’ money. A Ryu

spokesman said the initia-

tive would probably not ap-

ply to city ballot measure

committees, which can ac-

cept donations of any size,

or “behested” donations,

which are madeto charities

or other organizations at an

elected official’s request.

In addition, one political

consultant said he fears that

aprohibition on giving

would simply promptreal

estate developersto direct

their money into “independ-

ent expenditure” commit-

tees. Those campaign com-

mittees cannotcoordinate

their activities with the can-

didates they support. They

also face no legallimitson

how much money they can

accept.

Thosecommittees would

then spend big on behalf of

their favor ed candidates,

said political consultant

Michael Soneff. Money

would shift to committees

that lackcontribution limits

and accountability, he said.

Three of thefive council

members who signed the

proposal— Bus caino, Bonin

and Koretz — are running in

the March 7 election. Bonin

and Koretz, aswell as other

incumbents, face challeng-

ers who have publicly prom-

ised notto accept campaign

contributions from devel-

opers seeking city approval

for their projects.

Among them is at torney

JesseMaxCreed,whoisrun-

ning againstKoretz and de-

scribed the proposed ban as

“cynical.” Koretz has long

had the opportunity to stop

such contributions and is

only doing so now during a

reelectionfight, Creed said.

“My campaign is calling

Koretz out for hisreal estate

contributions,and now he’s

trying to be a born-again

good-government person,”

he said.

Koretz said that as re-

cently assix months ago, the

councilwould not have been

able to muster enoughvotes

to carry out a developerdo-

nationban.ButtheMeasure

Scampaign and The Times’

coverage of developercon-

tributionshavefueledapub-

lic perception that there is a

“pay-to-playculture” at City

Hall , he said.

Koretz said he does not

believe such a cultur e exists.

But it’s timeto address the

perception, he said.

“That’s not a good repu-

tation for the city to have,

whether it’s real or not,” he

said.

david.zahniser

@latimes.com

[email protected]

Developers’ influence under scrutiny

[Contributions,fromA1]

SEEKINGapprovalfor this project near the Beverly Center, RickCaruso and his

associates have donated $476,000 to L.A. officials and theircausesover five years.

Gensler

CITYCouncilman DavidRyu vowed in his 2015 run

not to take money from developers with city projects.

Lawrence K.HoLos Angeles Times

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