Council Members Address Forum : Tarzana: City leaders discuss traffic, crime and other concerns of Valley residents at an annual homeowners association meeting.

City Council members Tuesday night confirmed what many San Fernando Valley residents already know--that life in the Valley has grown more complicated, and in many cases more difficult, as the area grows more urban.

Traffic, crime, garbage, ethics and development were the top issues addressed by four City Council members representing Valley districts--Michael Woo, Joy Picus, Marvin Braude and Hal Bernson--at the annual membership meeting of the Tarzana Property Owners Assn. About 200 people attended the panel discussion at El Caballero Country Club, which was recorded by Century Cable Television for broadcast tonight.

“Ride-sharing will be a major part of our lives in Los Angeles, whether we like it or not,” said Bernson, who blamed Valley traffic on rapidly growing neighboring cities such as Simi Valley and Santa Clarita, whose residents commute to jobs in Los Angeles.

Bernson and Woo said they favored some form of regional planning to bring about a better balance of housing and jobs and reduce long commutes.

“How much traffic comes from the Valley and how much comes from outside?” said Woo, who called the San Fernando Valley the city’s best laboratory for addressing traffic issues.

Woo defended the ethics reform measure produced by a City Council committee he chaired, despite a controversial pay raise it would give council members, and joined Picus and Braude in urging voters to approve the measure on the June 5 ballot. Bernson said he opposed the measure because of its public financing component but said council members deserve higher salaries.

But Braude hailed public financing as a means of diminishing the influence of affluent special interest groups in elections. Picus, meanwhile, said tying pay raises to municipal judges’ salaries was a way to avoid having council members approve their own salary increases.

Resident Stanley Greiff drew applause when he asked the council members what could be done to stop the proliferation of mini-malls. The council members said they were working on it.