The mission of the Coalition for Veterans’ Land is to save land donated in 1888 as a permanent home for soldiers for direct services to Veterans and to protect the quality of life in Los Angeles -– both the quality of life of Veterans and the quality of life of the neighboring communities. 

 

The Coalition was formed in 2005 to:

• Stop a proposed  one million square foot FBI Headquarters expansion on the Westwood Federal Building site; 

• protect the 400-plus acre National Soldiers Home in West Los Angeles from being sold or commercially developed; and

• Stop the sale of the Army Reserve ten acre site at Wilshire and Federal to a private developer.

The Coalition seeks a Masterplan for all of this donated land, comprising the West Los Angeles Veterans Administration, the Westwood Federal Building, and the Army Reserve .

 

Through the bold leadership of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein and Congressman Henry Waxman we have defeated:

 

• The proposed FBI Headquarters expansion; and

• Proposals to sell or joint-venture the 388 acre VA campus through the Waxman-Feinstein bill that is now law. 

Our work is not yet done.  We still face:

 

• The sale of the ten acre Army Reserve at Federal and Wilshire to a commercial developer (the Coalition is prepared to sue if our elected representatives are unable to block this sale);

• The lack of a Masterplan for all Westside federal land to see that projects are compatible with adjacent communities; and

• Elimination of leases on VA land that are not for direct service to Veterans (e.g., Laidlaw, Tumbleweed, Buerge Ford, Enterprise Car Rental).  The Coalition is aggressively challenging these leases.

An Historic Coalition

 

Our strength has been our unity and the depth and breadth of support.  Over 33 community, homeowner, neighborhood councils, business, veterans and religious organizations support the mission of the Coalition.  Together, these groups represent over 300,000 concerned citizens, from Pacific Palisades to Fairfax, from West Los Angeles to the Santa Monica Mountains. 

 

This is an unprecedented coalition and shows the strength of commitment of our community to protect the interests of Veterans.  Indeed, many residents are Veterans and proud of their service to the nation.