ELECTIONS / ANTELOPE VALLEY : Two Measures Address Flood Control Issues

Four months after being hit by some of the worst flooding in years, voters in the Antelope Valley will be asked what agency should oversee flood control in the area, and Lancaster voters will also decide whether they want to pay for improvements to the current system.

Advisory Measure B on Tuesday’s ballot will ask residents of the Antelope Valley whether they want to join the county’s flood control district, form a new one or reject both options.

In addition, Lancaster voters will decide on Measure E, which would raise about $2.1 million annually for flood control projects through a citywide property tax.

The intent of the county measure is to guide officials as they recommend how to organize long-term flood control efforts in the region, but it will not by itself raise any money or fund any projects.

Proponents of forming a new district say it would give local residents more control over the cost and scope of flood control projects and could extend into Kern County to include the entire drainage basin for the area.

Those who favor joining the existing district cite the expertise the county has developed in managing and maintaining the vast network of canals, ditches and debris basins that have been built elsewhere since 1915, when the district was formed.

The city measure, if passed, would cost a typical homeowner $25 in the first year, with future rates to be set by the City Council.

City officials said the money raised would allow bonds to be issued to begin paying for an estimated $100 million to $200 million worth of drainage projects in the area. The city also raises money for such projects from development fees levied on new construction.

Passage of the Lancaster measure requires a majority vote. A similar plan was soundly defeated by city voters in 1985.

“We know it’s tough asking for taxes, but $25 a year per parcel is modest,” said Jeff Long, Lancaster’s public works director. “It’s less than a family spends when they go out to eat together. The longer we delay, the harder it is and the more the costs are.”

The amount of the tax would be based on estimated drainage, which would vary by the type of property. For example, the owner of an undeveloped 40-acre parcel would pay about $500 annually to start, while the owner of a one-acre commercial-industrial property would pay about $345 in the first year, according to city estimates.

Both ballot measures are a response to February’s heavy rains, which caused a flood basin collapse that contributed to much damage in the Quartz Hill area. City and county officials said they hope the flooding served to alert residents to the potential danger of doing nothing to improve flood control in the area.

Carl Blum, assistant deputy director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, likened the status of flood control in the area to that in the San Fernando Valley before voters passed flood control bond measures between 1952 and 1970.

Although the Antelope Valley has experienced rapid development in the past decade, the area lacks flood control improvements found in the rest of the county. The region, because it was mostly farms at the time, was excluded from the county flood control district when it was formed in 1915. The district extends only as far north as Avenue S in Palmdale.

Either option for bringing the Antelope Valley into a flood control district--joining the county district or forming a new one--would require state legislation.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich, who represents the area and proposed the ballot measure, said he hopes his constituents pick one of those two approaches over doing nothing. County officials said that, depending on the outcome, they will seek to have the Legislature authorize that course of action.

County officials have estimated that building a flood system for the Los Angeles County portion of the Antelope Valley would cost $800 million, meaning hefty assessments for residents regardless of whether the county or a local district has jurisdiction over the work.

Lancaster’s planned projects would be more localized and not duplicate the county’s work, officials said.