Coalition For Veterans' Land
Saving Veterans’ Land for Direct Services to Veterans, Protecting the Quality of Life in Los Angeles

Army Reserve (Updated 1/10/08)

In June 2006, the US Army auctioned-off the 10 acre Army Reserve site at Wilshire and Federal (1250 Federal Avenue) to a commercial developer, Craig Jones of Santa Monica. This site is part of the original 1888 grant deed creating the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. This deed requires that the land be permanently maintained as a soldiers home. It does not permit the sale or commercial use of this hallowed ground. It is for this reason that the local VA requested that the Army abandon its proposed sale and return the land to the VA so that it may be used for services to Veterans and comply with the 1888 deed.

All of our elected officials, including the Los Angeles City Council, which voted to oppose the sale and offered to join the County in its lawsuit last year and remains committed to saving this land for Veterans. Congressman Waxman writes to the Coalition.

Fortunately, Supervisor Yaroslavsky had the County challenge the auction due to a failure to prepare and circulate an EIS (Environmental Impact Statement). As a result, the Army agreed to prepare an EIS. This process is now underway. A lawsuit cannot be filed until the entire process is completed and a Final Environmental Impact Statement is certified by the Army.

The Coalition for Veterans’ Land has filed extensive scoping comments from our board and our attorney, Larry Watts of Seyfarth Shaw.

On a political front, we have also submitted about 2000 letters to the VA Secretary asking him to take back the land, and copied those letters to our federal representatives and the Army. These letters come from far and wide and are not limited to the Westside.

In September 2007 the local VA requested that the Army Reserve return the site for direct service to Veterans. We have been working closely with US Senator Barbara Boxer to get this land returned to the VA for direct service to Veterans. While the VA leadership is now interested in this land, the Army is not budging and the sale is moving forward.

The Coalition for Veterans’ Land is prepared to sue to stop this sale if our elected representatives fail to save this portion of the original National Soldiers Home.

If the VA permits this land to be sold or commercially used it will violate its fiduciary responsibility to Veterans as the successor to the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. Our Veterans deserve to have sacred commitments honored. It is a moral outrage to sell their land when they are in harms way and return needing services and shelter. This sale is a moral outrage.