Local News in Brief : Nov. 3 Election Set on Annexation by L.A. of Parcel Near Chatsworth

Voters living within a 1,011-acre unincorporated area west of Chatsworth will decide Nov. 3 whether their community will be annexed to the City of Los Angeles, the City Council agreed Friday.

The council originally set Aug. 18 for the election but was advised by the city attorney to change the date because of legal requirements.

Although the council has voted to annex the area, state law requires an election when 15% or more of the voters in the affected area have signed petitions opposing annexation. The city clerk has reported that 78 voters--41% of the area’s 189 voters--have signed petitions protesting the move. And those opponents say they have changed some residents’ minds since the petitions were circulated and now have a majority on their side.

Councilman Hal Bernson, who would represent the area if it is annexed, has pushed the proposal to enable the city to restrict development in the scenic, largely undeveloped area. The parcel is south of the Simi Valley Freeway and west of Topanga Canyon Boulevard.

The annexation also has received support from some residents of Indian Hills Mobile Home Village, who welcome the prospect of coming under the city’s rent-control law.

Some landowners oppose the move, contending that rezoning would reduce their property values. A part owner of Indian Hills mobile home park said he opposes annexation because of uncertainty over whether the city would renew the park’s operating permit.

It would be Los Angeles’ largest annexation since 1965, when the city acquired 3,017 acres of what is now part of Chatsworth.