PORTER RANCH : Homeowner Group Seeks New Clout

With a mailing list of about 2,000, the northwest-Valley based PRIDE is one of the most far-reaching of San Fernando Valley homeowner groups.

But the group’s political aims tend not to reach the highest levels of city government, said Walter Prince, PRIDE land-use chairman.

Prince said that for many of the group’s members, the newly elected city officials may have less impact on their lives than lower-level bureaucrats in the planning, building and traffic departments.

PRIDE formed to oppose a proposed 6-million-square-foot office development in Porter Ranch several years ago. Since the city approved the development, PRIDE members have settled into a new role as self-described watchdogs. These days, members scrutinize tract maps for new Porter Ranch subdivisions, and agitating over questions of notification of coming developments.

Prince, a supporter of 3rd District City Councilwoman-elect Laura Chick, said that he is hoping that the new configuration of city government will mean the Valley is viewed as an equal partner in the city, rather than as the “forlorn stepsister” of old.

Richard Alarcon, the 7th District City Council member-elect, and Chick both appear to be politicians who could think on a “global scale,” Prince said. Homeowners in the past have been frustrated with council members who only look out for “their own kingdoms,” Prince said.

Seeing the big picture will be particularly important as Porter Ranch develops, he added, since traffic spillover from the project could affect several surrounding districts.