LOCAL ELECTIONS: PROPOSITION B : ‘Safe Parks’ Act Would Fund Range of Projects : Recreation: The county measure would pay for improvements from the beaches to mountains to rivers to zoos. Opponents say it seeks a property tax hike for the wrong purposes.

Imagine a ballot measure supported by such ideological opposites as conservative Supervisor Mike Antonovich and liberal Assemblyman Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica) and endorsed by such diverse groups as the Sierra Club, Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Such a measure on next Tuesday’s ballot is Proposition B, the largest bond proposal in Los Angeles County history. It would increase property taxes to pay for $817 million of recreational and cultural projects.

The widespread political support it enjoys is no accident. The authors of Proposition B fashioned the measure to win the backing of a broad cross-section: from arts lovers and environmentalists to fishermen, inner-city groups and law enforcement officials.

Widely known and described on the ballot as the Safe Neighborhood Parks Act, Proposition B’s scope is actually much broader and includes funding for trout habitats, the Hollywood Bowl, a mountain camp for troubled youths, beaches, the County Museum of Art and the zoo. The measure also provides for hiring unemployed youngsters to plant trees and remove graffiti.

If approved by two-thirds of the voters, money would go to more than 80 projects, “so many that regardless of where you live in the county, there is something that will benefit you,” said Esther Feldman, campaign manager of Citizens for Safe Neighborhood Parks.

The bond would add about $20 a year--or $404 over the 20-year bond payment period--to the tax bill of a home assessed at $250,000, county officials said. On a home assessed at $125,000, the countywide average, the increase would be about $10 a year.

Signing the ballot argument against the measure are county Supervisor Pete Schabarum, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. and Los Angeles Taxpayers Assn.

Opponents say the measure is sponsored by a “group of self-serving individuals whose primary interest is to get the public to buy private land in the Santa Monica Mountains. They enticed others to support this bond measure by promising financing for their pet projects.”

Feldman came up with the idea for the omnibus funding act two years ago, while she was working for the Malibu-based Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority. The organization’s goal is to preserve open space in the Santa Monica Mountains and establish a “Rim of the Valley Trail” in the mountains extending from Pasadena through the San Fernando Valley into southern Ventura County.

The measure, if approved, would provide $76 million to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy to buy parkland and establish recreational facilities in that mountain range.

The bulk of the bond proceeds would go to projects throughout the county.

Each of the county’s 86 cities would receive a share, with the money parceled out on a per-capita basis. The city of Los Angeles, with 3.4 million residents, would get $55 million, while Vernon, with just 152 residents, would draw $20,000. This money, totaling $140 million, would be spent as the cities see fit.

The omnibus funding act also provides money for specific projects. They include: restoration of the Hollywood Bowl, including replacing the aging band shell, $35 million; improvements to exhibit space at the Los Angeles Zoo, $30 million; improvements to the Griffith Observatory, $13 million, and upgrading recreational facilities at Los Angeles city public housing projects, $4.7 million.

The ballot measure would also provide $1.7 million to aid crime-plagued MacArthur Park, allow for construction of trails connecting parks in the Simi Hills, Santa Susana Mountains, Santa Clarita Valley and Antelope Valley, at $3 million, and fund restoration of habitats for native steelhead trout in mountain streams, for $5 million.

The bond also would provide $10 million for grants to be awarded by the Board of Supervisors to public agencies and nonprofit groups to hire troubled youths to remove graffiti. There is another $10 million for the supervisors to award to organizations for developing recreational uses along the Los Angeles and San Gabriel rivers, $10 million for planting trees in urban areas, and $15 million for restoring historical sites.

The measure also would provide $50 million for beach improvements, $10 million to county botanical gardens, $13 million to the Museum of Natural History, $10 million to the County Museum of Art and $20 million to the California Museum of Science and Industry.

The city of Palos Verdes Estates has opposed the measure because, according to the city’s research, only nine of the county’s 86 cities would “get more money out of it than they would pay,” said City Manager Jim Hendrickson. Residents of Palos Verdes Estates would pay at least $3.5 million in higher taxes, but the city would receive only $241,000, Hendrickson said.

“We’re all in favor of open space,” the city manager said. “But with all the other problems facing the county, such as AIDS and the homeless, we don’t believe that the largest bond issue in county history should be dedicated to these purposes.”

Feldman responded: “To say there is no benefit because they don’t directly get the money is ridiculous.” She said the residents of every city benefit from regional projects, such as improvements to the beaches and Hollywood Bowl.

Joel Fox, president of Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn., and Jay Curtis, president of Los Angeles Taxpayers Assn., object because the bond seeks to do too much.

Curtis said that voters have approved nearly $3 billion in state park bonds in the last 16 years. He also said the ballot includes Proposition 149, a $437-million state park bond.

“It is just unconscionable how much the politicians are asking the people to tax themselves,” Curtis said. “It’s time they did their job, set priorities.”

Feldman said the local park projects have received only a fraction of state park bond funds. Of the $776-million state park bond approved by voters in June, 1988, Los Angeles County received $120 million.

The Board of Supervisors placed the measure on the ballot against the advice of Chief Administrative Officer Richard B. Dixon. He expressed concern that the park bond would jeopardize a half-cent sales tax increase for jails on the November ballot and a proposed 1992 billion-dollar bond to rebuild aging County-USC Medical Center.

“It would be a tragedy if the electorate became reluctant to finance critical jail needs and future health facility requirements because of the property tax increase resulting from the park bond,” Dixon said.

Antonovich said the park bond will bring “a new dimension of safety to our park and recreation facilities by including diversion programs that will steer our young people away from gang activities and drug use and toward healthy, productive recreational opportunities.”

Feldman said supporters have raised more than $530,000 in contributions, including $215,000 from the Los Angeles Philharmonic Assn., $95,000 from the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Assn., and $20,000 from Supervisor Ed Edelman’s reelection fund. Supporters plan to send a mailer to voters.

PROPOSITION B

The county’s Proposition B would fund $817 million worth of improvements to parkland, beaches, community facilities and youth programs.

Among other things, the broad-ranging measure would help pay for upgrading trout streams, the Hollywood Bowl, the county Museum of Art, the Griffith Observatory and the zoo. Here is a sampling of where the money will go. A. County Beaches and Harbors, $50 million to acquire, develop and restore beaches and public access.

B. Hollywood Bowl: $35 million for rehabilitation.

C. Los Angeles Zoo: $30 million to improve exhibit space and infrastucture.

D. County Museum of Natural History: $13 million for infrastucture.

E. County Museum of Art: $10 million to improve facilities.

F. Griffith Observatory: $13 million for infrastucture, planetarium and education center.

G. Trout Streams: $5 million to restore wild trout and native steelhead habitat in coastal and mountain streams.

H. Venice Waterfront Restoration: $10 million for the pier, recreation center, Ballona Lagoon, beach path and park.

I. Belmont Pier in Long Beach: $1.5 million to renovate fishing facilities and public access.

J. Rim of the Valley Parks and Trails: $20 million to buy and build trails and parks around the San Fernando Valley to Pasadena.

K. Hansen Dam Recreation Area: $15 million for 15-acre swimming lake and pier.

L. Whittier Hills: $15 million for land, trails and visitor center next to Hellman Park.

M. North County Athletic Complex: $8 million to buy and develop park in Lancaster-Palmdale region.