Report on Valley Fair Narrows Site Choices to 3

A report recommends that directors of the San Fernando Valley Fair consider establishing a fairground at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, near Hansen Dam in Sun Valley or in the Sepulveda Basin in Van Nuys.

The board of directors, which received the long-awaited report Tuesday night, plans to select one of the sites at its next meeting, on Dec. 17. It will then try to negotiate with the owners to purchase or lease the property.

Norman J. Landerman, president of the Orange County consulting firm that conducted the $30,500 study, cautioned the seven-member board that none of the locations is without problems.

Community Resistance

In the past, for example, suggested development plans for the Sepulveda Basin have met with stiff resistance from community groups. And the Lake View Terrace site, near the Tujunga Wash, is prone to erosion and flooding.

“There are limitations as well as opportunities in each of the areas we looked at,” Landerman told the board at Tuesday night’s meeting.

The annual event was dissolved in 1959 and has been without a permanent home since it was resurrected in 1974. The fair has been held at the North Campus of California State University, Northridge, but that land is scheduled to be developed by the university and will not be available after next summer.

No Comment on Report

In accepting the report, fair directors made no comment on the recommendations.

The study, which was begun this spring, suggested that the fair needs to increase its visibility in the Valley, expand its livestock exhibits and improve its other exhibits, and encourage more community organizations to participate.

In a survey of more than 400 Valley residents, the study said, 45% of the respondents had never heard of the fair.

Regarding a new site, the report seemed to suggest that a chunk of the Sepulveda Basin, which is operated by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, would be the most difficult property to obtain. The site encompasses about 55 acres occupied by the California National Guard at Woodley Avenue and Victory Boulevard. Heavy equipment, military vehicles and maintenance buildings occupy the property and the National Guard occasionally conducts war games there.

Many Delays Expected

In an interview, corps spokesman Lawrence E. Hawthorne said it could take up to eight years to complete an environmental impact statement and other studies before land could be made available to the fair. It also would require approvals ranging from the U. S. Department of Defense to local residents, he said.

Carol Plotkin, an aide to Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson, who has been involved in talks with fair members, was equally pessimistic.

“It’s fraught with problems, and our main conclusion is, frankly, if the fair people depend upon the corps and the federal government for their land, it will be lots of dollars and lots of years, if ever, before it is built,” Plotkin said.

However, Plotkin said the congressman’s concerns about preserving open space do not apply in this case since the land is occupied by the military.

Problems at Other Site

The site in the Hansen Dam area is also problematic, the study suggests. The potential for erosion and flooding would increase the cost of making the land usable, and it would be difficult to provide parking.

David Wolf, president of Pierce College, was more hopeful about the fair setting up at the college.

“There’s a potential for benefit to Pierce,” said Wolf, who has met twice with fair representatives. He said the college would be able to use any fair facilities that were built.

The fair’s biggest problem remains a lack of money. The board secured a promise from the Legislature for $10 million in state money, but only if it can provide $20 million in matching funds. The board now has $3 million in the bank.