Bernson Reveals Plans for Porter Ranch School : Development: A top district official says the city councilman’s proposal is unworkable because of state law.

In an apparent bid to settle a feud with school officials and mollify his colleagues, Los Angeles City Councilman Hal Bernson Tuesday unveiled a plan to guarantee construction of an elementary school within the huge Porter Ranch development.

The plan calls for the Los Angeles Unified School District to sign an agreement exclusively earmarking the estimated $17 million in fees paid by the Porter Ranch developer to build a new elementary school within the development, a 1,300-acre area in Chatsworth.

Without such an agreement, school officials could use the fees for school construction anywhere in the vast district.

But within hours, Bernson’s proposal was called unworkable by a top official with the Los Angeles Unified School District.

“We can’t do that,” said Douglas Brown, chief of the LAUSD’s building services division. Brown said the district is constrained by state law on how it may use developer fees.

The school district is supposed to use the fees to meet immediate school construction needs, he said.

“I see no reason why after this project is built out, the school district wouldn’t want to build a school in Porter Ranch . . . if it’s needed,” Brown said.

But he said: “I don’t think we can make that guarantee at this time.”

During a city Board of Referred Powers hearing two weeks ago on the project, Julie Korenstein, a West Valley school district member, accused Bernson of being unwilling to demand sufficient concessions from the Porter Ranch developer to provide for new schools.

Subsequently, the Board of Referred Powers’ other members--all of whom serve on the City Council--urged Bernson publicly to reach a compromise with the school system.

The school question has been one of the few impediments facing the Porter Ranch Development Co. in recent days as its huge project has steadily moved toward a final vote next week by the City Council.

Although refusing to identify Korenstein by name, Bernson said he hoped his plan would end the attempts of some to gain cheap political publicity out of the Porter Ranch-schools issue.

“I have had some doubts about whether the school system really intends to build a school for Porter Ranch,” Bernson said in an interview. “Now we’ll see how serious they are.”

Korenstein could not be reached for comment.

Her staff said she was vacationing on the

East Coast.

Although school officials said Bernson’s request that the school system earmark the Porter Ranch developer fees was not possible, another part of his plan won their applause.

Previously, Porter Ranch Development Co. had agreed to set aside a seven-acre site for an elementary school up to the year 2000.

Korenstein testified recently that the district wanted a longer option.

The site--at the southeast corner of the proposed extensions of Sesnon Boulevard and Mason Avenue--should be set aside until 50% of the residences in the development were built and occupied, Korenstein proposed.

The Porter Ranch-Bernson compromise unveiled Tuesday adopts Korenstein’s position about how long the developer should reserve an elementary school site.

The Porter Ranch project calls for constructing 6 million square feet of retail space and 3,395 housing units.