Bradley to Seek Referendum on Light-Rail Line in Valley

Mayor Tom Bradley will ask the Los Angeles City Council today to put a measure before San Fernando Valley voters in June seeking an end to a stalemate over construction of a light-rail line in the Valley.

The advisory measure would ask Valley voters if they favor construction of a light-rail line, and if so, which of five proposed routes they support, Deputy Mayor Mike Gage said Tuesday night.

The Los Angeles County Transportation Commission in December gave Valley elected officials up to one year to decide what light-rail route, if any, they favor. The commission acted after five routes proposed by its staff ran into strong opposition from residents. If no consensus is reached by 1988, available money could go to projects in other areas, county officials have said.

Bradley in West Germany

Bradley was in West Germany on a trade mission Tuesday and unavailable for comment. But Gage said, “The mayor feels it’s appropriate that Valley voters have a chance to be heard.

“He believes there’s strong support for light-rail in the Valley, but that all the voters out there also ought to have a chance to express their opinion. He thinks this will get a message to the County Transportation Commission that will be very clear,” Gage said.

Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, expected to challenge Bradley in the 1989 mayoral race, declined to take a position on the mayor’s request until he receives the proposal. However, he expressed skepticism about whether a referendum would settle the issue, because there is widespread disagreement among Valley homeowner groups.

Richard Close, president of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn., however, assailed Bradley’s proposal as a lack of leadership on the mayor’s part.

‘He Can’t Make a Decision’

“He can’t make a decision so he’s telling a million people in the Valley to make a decision for him,” Close said. “When we asked for a referendum on the Olympics we were told ‘decisions like that were made by elected officials. That’s why you have a city council and a mayor.’ ”

Close said he believes the light-rail issue is too complicated for voters. He said he favors a proposal by Yaroslavsky to form a citizen’s commission to develop a comprehensive transportation plan for the Valley, including making a recommendation on the light-rail line. Gage said the mayor’s proposal will be presented to the council today by Councilman Mike Woo and scheduled for a vote Tuesday.

The deadline for placing a measure on the June ballot is Feb. 17.

The five routes proposed are: along the Ventura Freeway, the Los Angeles River, the Southern Pacific Railroad main line, Victory Boulevard and a circuitous path that connects North Hollywood with Warner Center by way of Chandler Boulevard and Oxnard Street east of the San Diego Freeway and by way of Victory and Topham Street west of the freeway.

Some proposals call for linking the Valley light-rail system to the proposed Metro Rail commuter line connecting the Valley with Hollywood and downtown Los Angeles.