Simi Rally Opposes Initiative Tying Builders to Traffic Access

Simi Valley business leaders held a rally Friday to marshal opposition to a ballot measure that would impose strict traffic improvement requirements on developers.

According to the Nov. 8 ballot initiative sponsored by a local citizens group, developers would have to make traffic improvements, such as widening streets within a 1 1/2-mile radius of their projects, before construction could begin.

State law requires developers to relieve traffic problems caused by their projects, but not before beginning construction. It sets no specific geographical limits on the area in which traffic improvements must be made.

The initiative would exempt developers of single-family homes on 1 acre or more, builders of a proposed regional mall, existing car dealerships, certain medical facilities and several areas of the city, including the 2-square-mile West End redevelopment district.

At the Friday morning rally, about 125 people applauded initiative opponents, who predicted that the city would become unattractive to developers, mired in expensive lawsuits and economically stagnant should the measure pass. The rally was sponsored by the Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce.

“This is not a traffic initiative; it’s a no-growth initiative,” said Judy Mikels, a Simi Valley planning commissioner.

After the rally, Paul LaBonte, a candidate for City Council and chairman of Fight Intolerable Growth and Horrible Traffic, the citizens group that collected signatures to put the initiative on the ballot, described the Chamber of Commerce group as “a bunch of elitists, a pernicious group driven solely by greed.”

He said developers would still be attracted to Simi Valley if the initiative passes because the added cost of the traffic improvements would “just be another tax write-off to them.”

Of the city’s 59 major intersections, only two are congested with traffic beyond their designed capacities, said Ron Coons, director of public works.