Veterans, elected officials and Brentwood and Westwood residents are bracing for a potentially contentious meeting today that could help decide whether parts of the sprawling West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs campus eventually end up under the long-term control of private entities, the Los Angeles Times reports.

For several years, Department of Veterans Affairs officials have promoted the idea of privately developing portions of the 388-acre property. Several businesses use the grounds for such purposes as storing rental cars and buses and operating a laundry service.

A 177-page report released in advance of today’s meeting, sponsored by the VA, indicates that the agency plans to set aside several aging buildings north of Wilshire Boulevard for “reuse” or demolition.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky called the term “reuse” a “euphemism for privatization.”

“This is an outrageous land grab,” Yaroslavsky said in an interview. “They want to develop it. They think it’s worth billions of dollars.”

Community members and local politicians said this week that they would continue to strongly resist any such actions because the property was deeded to the government only for the use of veterans.

Read the full L.A. Times story

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