UCLA's Jackie Robinson Stadium on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs West Los Angeles campus was locked down Thursday following a federal judge's order that the university come up with a proposal for the stadium grounds to be used for the benefit of the military veterans for whom the land was originally deeded.
The order came at the conclusion of a daylong hearing Wednesday in which U.S. District Judge David O. Carter said voiced frustration at UCLA and other ex-leaseholders at the VA's West Los Angeles campus for not offering satisfactory uses for land for which it had illegally contracted.
A UCLA official rushed to the courtroom in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday evening after hearing that Carter was ready to lock down the baseball stadium. The official could not persuade the federal judge to do otherwise, and Carter said he would go to the VA's West Los Angeles campus on Thursday to ensure his orders had been followed.
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VA security placed locks on all entrances and exit gates to the stadium and an adjacent practice field and posted no trespassing signs in the area at about noon Thursday. UCLA employees could be seen earlier carrying various supplies out of the complex.
UCLA Athletics and the university issued a statement early Thursday afternoon, insisting that "UCLA unequivocally supports veterans, including making sure our country's heroes get the housing and healthcare they need and deserve.
"The VA has leased a small part of its land to UCLA since 1963. In exchange, the VA receives annual compensation that supports several veteran programs. Last night, a judge prohibited UCLA's use of this lease by noon today -- we are disappointed with the ruling but are complying. UCLA Athletics is actively working to adjust operations and training, as this means our students are no longer able to access Jackie Robinson Stadium.
"We hope for a swift legal resolution that lets our student-athletes return to the facility. It*s deeply important to be clear on this point: UCLA supports veterans."
Carter warned at the hearing that he was also on the verge of ordering the private Brentwood School's athletic center on VA grounds "bulldozed" and its swimming pool "filled with sand'' unless the school handed over VA land and devised a way for military veterans to enjoy the center, along with the student body.
The lengthy hearing followed a strongly worded ruling issued earlier this month in which Carter blasted the VA for "turning its back" on the veterans it was designed to help by illegally leasing portions of the campus to UCLA's baseball team, the affluent Brentwood School, an oil company, and other private interests on the agency's West Los Angeles campus.
The judge ordered the leases terminated.
During the Los Angeles federal court hearing Wednesday, Carter used threats and old-fashioned horse trading to cajole the affluent Brentwood School into attempting to make a deal whereby between 4 and 5 acres of land it had leased from the VA would be given to veterans. The school also offered to greatly expand hours for veterans to use the complex.
But after a group of veterans met in the back of the courtroom and nixed the deal, Carter gave the proposal a thumbs down.
The developments stem from a monthlong non-jury trial of a lawsuit lodged in federal court against the VA by a group of unhoused veterans with disabilities, challenging land lease agreements and seeking housing on the campus for veterans in need, many of whom are homeless or must travel for hours to see their doctors.
Over the past five decades, Carter wrote, the VA in West L.A. "has been infected by bribery, corruption, and the influence of the powerful and their lobbyists, and enabled by a major educational institution in excluding veterans' input about their own lands."
During trial, the VA argued that it is out of space on its 388-acre campus, and that the lack of available acreage precludes any increase to the 1,200 housing units the agency promised to open by 2030. VA attorneys alleged that any relief ordered by the court would burden the department financially and deprive it of the flexibility needed to solve veteran homelessness.
Ultimately, the court found that veterans are entitled to more than 2,500 units of housing at the campus "and termination of the illegal land-use agreements."
Carter previously said the court would begin to determine an "exit strategy" for the lease holders in order to ensure the land -- including the 10 acres rented to UCLA -- is put to a use that principally benefits veterans.
The judge's ruling orders the VA to build 750 units of temporary housing within 18 months and to form a plan within six months to add another 1,800 units of permanent housing to the roughly 1,200 units already in planning and construction under the settlement terms of an earlier lawsuit.
Carter, himself a Vietnam War veteran, found that the VA "has allowed the drastic reduction of the size of the original plot of land deeded in 1888 to be an old soldiers' home. In a series of lengthy, renewable leases, the VA authorized leaseholders to build permanent athletic facilities -- after permitting these concrete structures to be built on veterans' land."
The judge held that for years the VA -- budgeted at $407 billion annually -- has "quietly sold off" land badly needed for injured and homeless military veterans.
VA press secretary Terrence Hayes said in a recent statement to City News Service the agency "will continue to do everything in our power to end
veteran homelessness -- both in Los Angeles and across America. No veteran should be homeless in this country they swore to defend, and we will not rest until veteran homelessness is a thing of the past."
Hayes did not comment on the judge's findings regarding the leaseholders.
A UCLA representative said early this month that the university and VA have had a "longstanding public service partnership" over more than 70 years.
"Working with the VA to serve veterans continues to be one of our key objectives as part of UCLA's mission of teaching, research and public service," according to UCLA. "We are reviewing the judge's (leaseholder) decision to determine how it will affect our partnership with the VA."
