1985 City Council Will Tackle Many Familiar Issues

Councilman Hal Bernson wants to continue a crackdown on adult businesses. Councilman Howard Finn wants to license scavengers to rummage through garbage collecting recyclable material. And Councilwoman Joy Picus simply wants to get reelected.

Those are among the wishes of Valley members of the Los Angeles City Council for 1985.

A wide range of issues--important to the entire city or to the Valley specifically--are expected to come before the council this year.

Some are part of continuing controversies such as rent control, jet noise at Burbank Airport, completion of the East Valley cable television system, funding for the proposed Metro Rail subway and a proposed tax to pay for more police.

New Issues

Other issues are new. These include a proposed citywide building moratorium, shelter for the homeless, a sign-control law for Ventura Boulevard in Encino and Van Nuys Boulevard in Van Nuys and a proposed plan to preserve scenic Mulholland Drive.

Few issues are expected to be decided at City Hall until after the April 9 city elections.

That’s because more than half of the council--including Valley members Ernani Bernardi, Marvin Braude, Finn and Picus--are up for reelection.

“I don’t want to take on any time-consuming issues at this time,” Picus said. “I’m going to devote my energies to being reelected.”

None of the Valley council members appear in danger of losing their seats. But, depending on decisions made in the next few days by Bernardi and Councilman Joel Wachs, 1985 could bring a couple of political changes for the Valley.

City Attorney’s Race

Wachs has said he may run for city attorney. If he runs--and wins--a wide open race for his Studio City-area seat would result, with school board member Roberta Weintraub mentioned as one possible candidate. Wachs is not up for reelection until 1987, so he can run for city attorney without losing his council seat.

If Bernardi runs for mayor, as he has said he is interested in doing, a new Van Nuys-area councilman would be elected. Since Bernardi’s council seat expires this year, he must choose which post to seek.

Voters should have a clearer picture of what to expect in this spring’s elections by Jan. 14, the deadline for declarations of candidacy for city office.

As far as issues are concerned, the council will again have to decide whether to hold a public vote on a proposed property tax increase to pay for additional police. The continuing discussion of additional officers is expected to revolve around the issue of police deployment.

This has become a critical issue to Valley council members because inner-city council members want a higher proportion of officers stationed in their districts, perhaps at the expense of the Valley.

Rent Control

Rent control is another issue expected to come back before the council this year. Left unresolved from last year is how much of a rent increase should be allowed. A study commissioned by the city and designed to establish a formula for annual rent increases should be completed in the spring.

The council will continue to face decisions relating to completion of the long-delayed East Valley cable TV franchise. United Cable TV, the firm building the system, will have to meet a July 1 deadline for providing service to the first 10,000 homes or face heavy fines.

The firm plans to go before the council with a request for a 10-year extension of the East Valley franchise, which expires in 1987. Company officials say the extension is necessary to obtain the financing needed to complete the system.

Also left undecided from 1984 is the future of Metro Rail. “I don’t feel very optimistic about Metro Rail,” Picus said recently after federal budget director David Stockman’s decision to deny federal funding for the proposed downtown-to-Valley subway.

Unless Metro Rail supporters can convince Congress to provide the funds, the council will be faced with a tough decision on what to do next about the city’s transportation problems.

Noise at Burbank Airport is another issue expected to be back before the council in 1985. The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to respond to the city’s request to reroute planes away from East Valley homes. Valley council members say they are unsure of their next move if the FAA denies their request, but they pledge a continued fight for reduced noise.

The most critical development issue facing the council will be bringing city zoning into conformity with the more restrictive land-use plans prepared at the community level. Homeowners are seeking a citywide building moratorium to head off what they fear will be a rash of development caused by the delay.

On another development issue, the council faces a request by homeowners to impose a building moratorium on Ventura Boulevard in Encino until plans can be worked out to reduce traffic congestion.

The council also is expected to act on separate proposals to restrict the clutter of signs along Ventura Boulevard in Encino and Van Nuys Boulevard in Van Nuys. A proposed ordinance regulating the height, size and placement of signs citywide also will come up.

Revised community plans for Chatsworth, Reseda-west Van Nuys, Mission Hills-Panorama City-Sepulveda, Warner Center and scenic Mulholland Drive also will come before the council for action in 1985. The plans generally set stricter development standards in the communities.

Also expected to come before the council is a measure that would regulate the location of new liquor stores. The law is being sought by Finn because of problems created by the proliferation of liquor stores in his Pacoima-area district, but it would apply citywide.

Bernson said he plans to continue his effort to restrict the location of adult businesses. He previously won approval of an ordinance prohibiting new adult business--such as sexually oriented movie theaters, bookstores and nightclubs--from opening within 500 feet of churches, homes and schools. He now wants the restrictions extended so that, over time, they will apply to existing adult businesses.

Council members also will continue to pursue a number of pet projects in 1985.

Bernson said he plans to continue his drive to clean up a pocket of crime and poverty in the Bryant-Vanalden section of his otherwise upscale Northridge district. He said he will propose a change in the rent control law to allow landlords to evict tenants so that one predominantly low-income Latino neighborhood can be turned into a gated community for senior citizens.

Bernson and Bernardi also plan to send a proposed law to the council that would define as a form of sexual exploitation certain sadistic depictions of pornography, such as women enjoying rape.

Such a law, they say, would permit any citizen who feels his rights have been violated to sue the publications. A similar ordinance was adopted in Indianapolis but has been declared unconstitutional. That ruling is under appeal.

Although the decision on what to do with vacant schools rests with the Board of Education, some council members say they will push for certain uses of the buildings.

Finn said he will offer a resolution asking that empty schools in the Valley be used as temporary shelters for the homeless. Picus said she will ask that the schools be converted to day-care centers.

Picus and Finn said they also expect the council in 1985 to deal with the decreasing number of garbage disposal sites. Picus said she hopes the council will start construction of a plant to burn trash to create energy.

Finn, whose northeast Valley district contains more trash disposal sites than any of the 14 other council districts, said he will push for passage of his proposal to license scavengers to reduce the waste going to landfills. They would be allowed to remove recyclable material such as paper and aluminum cans from garbage at curbs.