Agoura Hills Stands by Accusation : Bernson Won’t Get Apology

Agoura Hills city officials said Friday that they will not apologize for accusing Los Angeles City Councilman Hal Bernson of having a conflict of interest in a decision on their town’s “sphere of influence.”

Bernson had asked for the apology earlier this week, accusing Agoura Hills of falsely linking him with a Jan. 9, 1985, Los Angeles County Local Agency Formation Commission ruling that established a narrow sphere of influence for the town, 10 miles west of the San Fernando Valley.

Bernson said late Friday he would contact a lawyer about suing Agoura Hills and its leaders for defamation of character.

Bernson Decries Decision

“Either they’re not very bright, or there’s an intent on their part to harm my reputation,” the northern San Fernando Valley councilman said of Agoura Hills officials.

Spheres of influence are land-use planning areas, mandated by the state, that are intended to reflect the “probable ultimate physical boundaries” of cities. The county commission established a sphere that basically follows the boundaries of eight-square-mile Agoura Hills, rejecting a request by the city for a larger area.

Later, Agoura Hills challenged the ruling in court. The city charged that Bernson and another commissioner, county Supervisor Mike Antonovich, violated state conflict-of-interest laws by participating in the commission action after receiving campaign contributions from landowners affected by the sphere decision.

But Bernson denied that he was present for the controversial 1985 vote. On Wednesday, he demanded a retraction and a formal resolution of apology--to be passed unanimously by the Agoura Hills City Council.

No such apology is needed, Rochelle Browne, assistant Agoura Hills city attorney, informed Bernson by letter Friday.

She said transcripts of a Nov. 14, 1984, commission meeting on the sphere issue “clearly show that you participated in that hearing,” which set the stage for the later vote. That means there is “no justification” to the apology demand, she said.

Law in Effect

Michael W. Huse, Agoura Hills city manager, said the city had learned that the conflict-of-interest statute that Bernson allegedly violated became state law Oct. 1, 1984.

Agoura Hills Mayor Vicky Leary said late Friday that Browne’s letter means no apology is coming from her City Council.

An angry Bernson said the case is far from closed as far as he is concerned.

“I really wasn’t going to make a federal case of this,” he said. “But I’ll have to talk to legal counsel and find out what my rights are. I can’t believe they would want to jeopardize their city treasury.”