Lawsuit challenges Luskin Center project’s tax exemptions
By Daily Bruin
April 4, 2013 9:51 p.m.
Local nonprofit Save Westwood Village and others filed a lawsuit with the Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday to oppose UCLA’s planned Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference and Guest Center – the second lawsuit regarding the center in the past year.
The center, which is expected to be completed in 2016, will house 25,000 square feet of meeting space, 250 guest rooms and a new parking garage on Westwood Plaza and Strathmore Drive in place of Parking Structure 6.
The $162-million center will be exempt from certain taxes because it is not a truly commercial business, enabling it to offer rooms at a lower price than other hotels in the area, according to Daily Bruin archives.
But community members who filed the lawsuit allege that the center will unfairly take business away from local hotels because it is exempt from some taxes and will be able to set lower prices.
The lawsuit is part of Save Westwood Village’s ongoing efforts to block construction of the center. In October, the organization filed a separate lawsuit, claiming that the proposed center will violate zoning laws, according to The Bruin archives.
“UCLA is not the University of Hyatt and that is what it’s becoming,” said Laura Lake, co-president of Save Westwood Village.
UCLA maintains that all guests will need to be affiliated with the university, therefore the center would not compete with local hotels for tourists, according to a university statement released Thursday.
“UCLA remains confident that all of our facilities are in full compliance with all local, state and federal laws and we fully expect to prevail,” the statement said.
Compiled by Erin Donnelly, Bruin senior staff.
