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Politics & Government

State Denies Funding for Plummer Park, Affordable Housing

Municipal bonds West Hollywood sold for the development projects are now in limbo.

Plans for upgrades at Plummer Park and an affordable housing project on La Brea Avenue were further delayed when the state denied an appeal for redevelopment funds, West Hollywood officials announced last week.

In March 2011, the city issued $27 million in bonds to finance the $41 million Plummer Park redevelopment plan and $9 million in bonds for the Courtyard at La Brea, 32-unit affordable housing structure that is presently under construction.

Now those debt obligations are in limbo after the California Department of Finance denied redevelopment funds to cover the remaining costs of those projects.

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"We're going to have to move forward with other agencies and look at legal means of securing those monies or other legislative opportunities," Weho City Manager Paul Arevalo said at the Dec. 17 City Council meeting.

David Wilson, West Hollywood finance director, said the bonds can't be recalled until 2021, and the Plummer Park and Courtyard at La Brea projects are on hold as a result.

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"The state is looking at it in a really simplistic manner," Arrevalo told the council. He predicted the matter would end up in federal court.

The extensive Plummer Park makeover seeks to add new green space, fountains, a subterranean parking lot, new preschool and performance center, according to the city's website.

According to Wilson, the state's denial of funding was primarily based on the fact that the city hasn't awarded any construction contracts for the park project.

"Our argument is we issued bonds, and that we pay back monthly payments of a 30-year obligation," Wilson said.

Arevalo called the funding delay a "continuing saga," as city officials determine their next move toward financing the projects.

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