Here’s a good example of the law of unintended consequences.You may have read how U.S. District Judge Ronald Lew’s decision earlier this month that halted grading at the future Playa Vista site actually applies only to 16.1 acres of “permitted area” – that is, an area in which no building was ever planned. By staying the developers’ obligation to grade and re-vegetate this relatively tiny plot, the decision may just speed up the entire project, and make it less ecologically sound.What hasn’t been stressed, though, is who was responsible for Lew’s decision and its consequences. In fact, it was Ballona Wetlands Trust, the Malibu-based coalition that takes an uncompromisingly “anti” stance on the Playa Vista development. Via the outcome of its litigation, the Trust has now managed to score a touchdown for the opposing team, the developers of the (maximum) 29,000-resident project. The disputed 16 acres were intended to be part of an environmental showpiece, a re-creation with native, instead of modern, plant and animal species of the original Ballona freshwater wetlands. Lew’s decision did not affect the vast commercial development at all.
Source: Enviros Can Kill Marsh, but not Playa Vista | L.A. Weekly