Woo Says His Good Faith Comes With the Territory

Welcome to the San Fernando Valley, Councilman Michael Woo.

That was the greeting Sunday as the Hollywood-based councilman toured the new Sherman Oaks-Studio City portions of his district. He picked up the Valley communities from Councilman Joel Wachs in a redistricting plan approved by the City Council on Friday.

The tour was arranged by Richard Close, president of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn., to familiarize Woo with such Valley issues as excessive development on traffic-clogged Ventura Boulevard and noise from Burbank Airport.

“The fighting over redistricting is over,” Close said. “The important thing right now is to get back to business. We have problems here in the Valley. We’re going to focus on what the problems are and how the new councilman of the area can help us.”

Showing His Commitment

Said Woo: “I thought it was important for me to show my good faith in terms of my interests and my commitment to the Valley, and to show I am willing to work with homeowner and business leaders in the Valley.”

Under the redistricting plan now in effect, three councilmen who previously represented districts south of Mulholland Drive will now come over the Santa Monica Mountains into the Valley. They are John Ferraro, Zev Yaroslavsky and Woo, all of whose districts now include a large part of the area previously represented by Wachs.

Wachs and Councilman Ernani Bernardi assumed mostly new East Valley districts comprising the area previously represented by the late Councilman Howard Finn.

The redistricting plan was bitterly opposed by many Valley residents, who objected that it would assign them council members who are unfamiliar with their community’s problems. Concern also was expressed that Valley areas, which constitute only a small part of a district that lies largely south of Mulholland Drive, would be neglected.

Most of the people greeting Woo on Sunday were friendly, but Nancy Pohl, board chairman of the Briarcliff Improvement Assn., a Studio City homeowners’ group, was still wary about the benefits of redistricting.

“How do you deal with three councilmen along one little strip of this boulevard?” Pohl asked, speaking of Ventura Boulevard. “If you’re going to ask one question, you’re going to get three different answers. I don’t see this redistricting as improving services in the Valley.”

However, Pohl said, she was not ready to join an effort by redistricting opponents to upset the plan by initiative.

“I Have an Open Mind”

“I have an open mind,” she said. “I very much want to see what Mr. Woo has to say before I make my final decision.”

Woo repeated his assertions that the plan would benefit the Valley, saying, “For the first time, the Valley has the potential for a majority of votes on the council.” The new plan boosts the number of council districts whose territory lies either partly or entirely in the Valley from six to eight.

Citing his position as vice chairman of the council’s Planning and Environment Committee, Woo said, “I’m in a position to do a lot for the people in this area.”

Woo spent about an hour touring Ventura Boulevard, the main artery through Sherman Oaks and Studio City. He also toured a residential neighborhood north of the boulevard where Close said five-story apartment buildings are being constructed next to single-family homes.

Woo also viewed the massive Fujita Building in Encino, which, although outside his new district, is frequently cited by homeowners as the kind of development that needs to be stopped. The massive six-story building is constructed next to homes, blocking their sun and views of the mountains.

“It’s a really great illustration of why Proposition U (a slow-growth initiative on the November city ballot) is needed,” Woo said as he passed by the building.

For Woo, Sherman Oaks and Studio City--where homeowner leaders have sought to limit development--represent very different concerns from the rest of his district. In Hollywood, for example, business owners are encouraging development to help the decaying area turn around.

Some Promises Made

After the tour, Woo pledged to look into updating the 12-year-old Sherman Oaks-Studio City Community Plan to further restrict development in those communities. He also promised to open a district office in the Valley.

Woo was not altogether unfamiliar with the area’s problems. He knew enough to ask Close about the status of the dispute at Laurel Canyon Park between dog owners who let their pets run free and other park users who contend the unleashed pets are a nuisance. The dispute has been a thorny issue for Wachs.

“I’m mystified as to why there hasn’t been a sort of compromise worked out,” Woo said, promising to look into the issue.