Santa Clarita Valley Group Begins Petition Drive to Recall Antonovich

A group of Santa Clarita Valley homeowners, upset about county development practices that they say have allowed rapid growth in the area, Wednesday began circulating petitions to recall Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich.

The county registrar-recorder’s office gave the go-ahead for recall proponents to begin collecting signatures after approving state-required recall documents, said Alice Rivers, a county elections official. Under state law, the group has 160 days to gather about 83,000 signatures, 10% of the registered voters in Antonovich’s 5th District, in order to force a recall election, Rivers said.

Besides the Santa Clarita Valley, Antonovich’s vast northern Los Angeles County district includes the San Fernando Valley and the cities of Pasadena, Alhambra and San Gabriel.

Antonovich, a candidate for the Republican nomination for U. S. Senate, dismissed the recall drive as a political ploy by Democratic opponents.

Although Antonovich has drawn criticism from residents who live in sparsely populated, developing areas of his district, he traditionally has had strong support in more established communities such as Pasadena, Burbank and Glendale.

In his last election for the nonpartisan post, Antonovich avoided a runoff by getting 63% of the vote in the primary.

Saugus rancher John Castillo, a Democrat who is heading the recall drive, charged in recall documents that Antonovich has catered to the desires of large developers at the expense of residents and has used his position as chairman of the board’s Public Works Committee to benefit campaign contributors, including developers.

Because of the area’s rapid development, Castillo alleged, roads have become overburdened, causing death and injuries to residents, schools are crowded beyond their capacity, scenic hills and oaks have been destroyed and the area’s sewer system has become overburdened.

Many developments requiring extensive grading of hills and removal of huge amounts of dirt have been approved without environmental impact reports, as required by the state, Castillo alleged.

Recall proponents also charged that Antonovich has spent too much time accumulating funds and campaigning for the Senate nomination and has neglected his constituents.

In a reply to the charges, Antonovich denied neglecting his duties and catering to developers. He said cost-saving measures he initiated in county government have saved taxpayers more than $100 million since he was first elected in June, 1980.

“I spend nearly every day and evening working with and for constituents,” he said.

Antonovich said he has successfully blocked detrimental toxic waste sites, state prisons and oil pipelines in the area while bringing in new police, fire and library services.

The balanced growth he has supported in the Santa Clarita Valley, Antonovich said, has provided new jobs, homes, businesses and funding for vital services. He said he initiated a law that requires developers to pay for new schools and water and sewer systems to accommodate the rapid growth.

“I support balanced growth with environmental safeguards and adequate service systems, after full public hearings and in accordance with state and county laws,” Antonovich said.

Castillo said the recall movement began late last year when a small group of Saugus-Valencia area homeowners, including Richard Reedy, a building inspector, and Wolfgang Dubberke, an engineer, became concerned about the density of development and the heavy grading of hills for development.

“We’re not against development,” Reedy said. “We’d just like to see a slowdown until the impacts have been thoroughly studied.”

The recall effort has since gained support from homeowners throughout the Santa Clarita Valley and from individuals who live in other communities in the districts that are experiencing rapid growth, Castillo said.

Dennis Washburn, president of the Las Virgenes Federation, an umbrella organization for 16 homeowners associations, said he expects that a number of individuals in the western portion of Antonovich’s district will help circulate petitions.