When "doing good" doesn't

VETERANS UNITED FOR TRUTH, INC. IS A NATIONAL, NON-PROFIT, PUBLIC SERVICE CORPORATION, INCORPORATED IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA [#C2766290].
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When "doing good" doesn't
The West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) was deeded in perpetuity for thesole purpose of caring for military veterans. This trust was established in 1888 through a gift by two families that held old Spanish grant properties. The many buildings on this property were built over timeto care for veterans of the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, WW I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, the current Afghanistan and Iraq wars, and another hundred or so military actions and all
peacetime service that has occurred in between.

Because of its location in Brentwood, a generally wealthy community of Los Angeles, the facility occupies some of the most valuable real estate on the West Coast – land that currently sells for $6M-$12M an acre. Likewise, because of its location, it has often been the target of developers and investors.

Veterans Park Conservancy
Since 1988 a worthy organization, the Veterans Park Conservancy (VPC) made up of many veterans, veterans relatives, a descendant of one of the grantors, and other citizens residing in Brentwood and Beverly Hills, has raised some serious money for, and supported some worthy causes at the facility. They have also helped in the past to fend off commercial development on the property. Despite the real good that this organization has done over the years, two recent initiatives have raised serious questions and profound doubts on the part of veterans across the country as to the propriety of this organization's current goals.

The first of these questionable acts is a recent campaign to replace a portion of the fence surrounding the 388 acres of the VAMC property. The VPC raised some money and the DVA pitched in $1,000,000 of VA construction funds. The fence faced toward Brentwood properties. The stated goal was, of course, to improve the property for veterans. The actual goal was revealed by two acts: 1) the statement by one of the principals that the new fence would “remove an eyesore” -- thus revealing an aesthetic goal rather than a veterans’ benefit goal; and, 2) the inclusion on the fence at the pedestrian gateway (to the future park?) of a sign that absolutely reinforced the understanding of any thinking person that the goal was purely aesthetic.

The sign in question bore the words "Beauty, Honor, Country". This sign denigrated the motto of the US Military Academy -- "Duty, Honor, Country", which motto has become the solemn oath and polestar of all serving military and veterans. By substituting the cutesy "Beauty" for the near-sacred word and concept of "Duty" the organization revealed its true concern – once again aesthetic gain for Brentwood,
not veterans’ benefit. After much protest, the sign has been replaced with the proper quotation.

Sliding down the ol’ slippery slope
Now the VPC has signed an agreement with the DVA to set aside 16 acres of the Brentwood campus as a "Veterans Park". Their correspondence and their website talk only about establishing this park as a place of respite for veterans. Deep in the agreement, however, the true purpose is buried, for there it states that this will be a public park. The cost-free agreement is for 20 years with a 10 year option for extension.

One wonders what “park” they have been conserving for the 20 years preceding this 15-month old agreement – perhaps there was a goal sitting there all along?

This property is already quietly slipping away from its sworn purpose to be used solely to benefit veterans. 25 or more of its buildings are already leased out to other agencies, community organizations, and commercial businesses (yellow buildings on the above map). No one would argue with the Red Cross or Salvation Army using the property, recognizing both organizations’ involvement in military and veterans’ services. There are legitimate questions about Enterprise rent-a-car and other commercial interests.

20+ acres are used by the Brentwood School, a private K-12 Academy, for its athletic facilities. This school, with its annual tuition of $27,650, is unlikely to have too many veteran’s kids enrolled.. This “Veterans Park” initiative plants the seed of a slow-growing eminent domain or adverse possession claim 30 years hence. When the lease and its extension expire, and should some DVA administrator resists granting a new lease at that time, it's easy to predict the uproar. All of us who either
supported or opposed the public use of this private land will be long gone. The cry will come from a new generation who will believe that they are losing an entitlement. "They're taking our Park!" "I grew up in that park -- our family had picnics there!" "You can't take away our Park -- it's not fair!"

Of course those veterans being helped in that facility who cannot, by reason of their physical or mental condition, mix with the general public will be denied use of that park. They too could reasonably say of the current plan, "It's not fair!"
Since they have not been allowed to weigh in, we are proud to stand for them.

Laudable purposes
All of us can understand Brentwood’s need for a park. After all, this town of 33,000 souls ought to have open space where its residents can relax. Admittedly some of those souls are veterans, but with the income levels in the community there are not likely to be many vets who need the VAMC’s facilities or their services.

Brentwood is not your average town. With a median household income of only 200+% of the national median, and with the income of those residents in their early 30s equal only to the poverty level income of a family of nine, one can understand how deprived they must feel. That median household income ($102,308) is, of course, approximately 285% of the median income of all veterans nationwide ($36,053).

With only 15% of its 17,000 households having children, the need must still arise for those children to have play space. Since they spend more than twice as much as the rest of us on clothing, food, health care, furniture, reading materials, transportation, and utilities, and almost 3 times as much on gifts and education, they are probably a little strapped.

You would think, though, that a town with at least as many people with graduate degrees as there are children could have come up with a better solution.
A modest proposal We have a proposal for a few legitimate alternatives that Brentwood should consider. Brentwood should recognize the park that it already has only 1 mile to the west of the veterans property. The eastern end of the Brentwood Country Club is designated on maps as "Brentwood Park". Looking at that area on “Google Earth” reveals that it is apparently part storage yard and part dump so
improving it should be nothing but a gain to the community.

While “Brentwood Park” does not seem to offer the full 16 acres, certainly the very small group of good folks who are members of the private Brentwood Country Club would not mind giving up some land and rerouting a couple of holes for this worthy purpose. Considering the scarcity of land in that immediate area, they should be able to demand a sufficiently large price to salve any wounds – at least a
hundred million.

If the Brentwood country club is unwilling to give up their land for this noble cause, there are other Brentwood properties that could be considered. There are quite a few properties of five acres or more to the northwest up Mandeville Canyon.
Brentwood could also go in with Pacific Palisades to their West and claim enough land for a park to serve both communities from the Riviera country club which is much larger. It’s a private club too, but their membership should willingly release some of their large holdings for the benefit of the community

On doing good We believe in the concept of doing good and we believe that doing good has been the VPC’s intent for most of these past 20 years. They have done much good in the past and should be praised for it. For all of us it is the same, however. No matter how much good we may have done before, each actand each initiative must be evaluated on its own merits. Sometimes doing good, doesn't – it does harm. As
the constitutional scholar Lawrence Tribe recently wrote in a different context, "a premise of our system is that good will, altruism and empathy are insufficient safeguards." We think those words apply here – in
spades.
The VPC has elicited some strong political support – US Senators, US Representatives, the mayor of Los Angeles, City Councilperson's, and prominent civic leaders. We are confident that all of these politicians and dignitaries looked at the community’s need and agreed that a park was a good idea. (We have the letter to prove it). Such support is clearly understandable as the Brentwood ZIP code contributes 121 times as much money to political causes as the average ZIP in the US ($5,991,733 vs. $49,689).

Unfortunately, they seem to have forgotten that the land doesn't belong to the City of Los Angeles, or even to the State of California. The land belongs to the nation, and was given and dedicated solely for the support of veterans. If a handful of local residents and a few politicians are allowed to repurpose this property, such an act would seem to deny due process to the real stakeholders – 24 million veterans. We believe that only the President of the United States and the full Congress should have a say in how this land is used, and whether or not it can be transferred from its entrusted purpose.

On doing better Instead of “doing good” for a few, let's do better for everyone. The VPC should explore the alternatives we have provided, and we will support their efforts. We'll even try to help them pay for it, although they will have to wait for the results of our fundraising methods which are pretty slow as they are limited to bake sales and sponsored 5Ks – we have no trust funds.

In time, if the veterans and their 75 million or so family members can raise two or three dollars each they would have enough, perhaps, to satisfy the private owners of one or the other country club or of those multi-acre residential properties..
We really don't need any more memorials or remembrance parks – thanks, but no thanks – our sisters’ and brothers’ needs are much more serious than that.
Maybe we can take back the million dollars that the DVA spent on their lovely fence, and maybe we could keep a million or two of the rest of the money we raise selling cupcakes so that Brentwood can have their park. We can then apply those bucks to a truly private park for veterans and their families.

But first we’d like to use whatever money they leave to us to refurbish some of the 218,000 ft 2 of vacant buildings at the facility so that we could start to take some of the 20,000+ homeless veterans off the streets of their city. By sheltering as many as possible we could start to identify those veterans wandering homeless in LA who truly need and deserve the physical and mental health care for which this
facility and this land was dedicated.

We don’t believe that the VPC and their supporters (or for that matter whomever signed the agreement for the DVA) are greedy or heartless. We just think that they are insensitive and totally oblivious to the consequences of their actions.
Everyone would benefit if we “do better” to "do right", instead of just "doing good". [Ed.]

[Editorial, Veterans United For Truth, Inc. Newsletter Sound Off!, Vol. IV, #7, 25 November 2008]

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