Local News in Brief : 2 Sites Considered for New Courthouse
Two sites--one near Los Angeles International Airport and the other in the planned community of Playa Vista--are being considered by Los Angeles County Municipal Court officials for a $70-million courthouse.
The new courthouse is needed to alleviate overcrowded conditions at the West Los Angeles branch court, said Robert Quist, who oversees branch operations for the Municipal Courts.
He said court officials have yet to enter into serious negotiations for the purchase or lease of either site. The 7.5-acre site on LAX’s northern boundary is owned by the city of Los Angeles, while the state holds a lien on the seven acres in Playa Vista.
The sites represent virtually the only vacant land in the area of the size needed for the planned courthouse, Quist said. Initially the courthouse is expected to house 16 judges, but it will be designed so it can be expanded to 24, he said.
Overcrowding in the 28-year-old West Los Angeles courthouse is severe, with four of that court’s 10 judges holding court in trailers.
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