SAN FERNANDO : New Redevelopment Zone Considered

The San Fernando City Council has hired a consultant to consider setting up a new redevelopment zone for an area of the city damaged by the Northridge earthquake.

GRC Redevelopment Consultants of Diamond Bar will study two sections of San Fernando--between Celis Street and the Southern Pacific Transportation Co. railroad tracks from Workman Street to the city limits, and a smaller area along 1st Street between Harding and Workman streets.

The redevelopment zone would be created under a special redevelopment law which--because of damage from the earthquake--allows a city to set up a zone bypassing several time-consuming steps. The initial studies for the zone have to be completed by mid-June, said Ernie Glover, head of the consulting firm, which is being hired for $37,300.

The council Monday night also voted to buy a $1,590 hearing aid for a 60-year-old street sweeper whose hearing had been damaged because of the noise of the equipment. Councilman Doude Wysbeek rejected a proposal that the man pay back the hearing aid at $20 a month.

“If our employees are not in a safe environment, we should accept the responsibility,” Wysbeek said, adding that the man had suffered the damage to his ears because the equipment he was using in the 1970s did not meet today’s safety standards. “Let’s face the music.”

Also at the council meeting, Councilwoman Rosa Chacon recommended that the city consider setting term limits for elected officials.

“People in the community feel this is a good safeguard so that a politician does not become entrenched,” she said.

Wysbeek said such a matter should ultimately be decided by a ballot measure. City staff members will put together a report on the issue to present to the council at a future meeting.

“I think elections themselves have a way of limiting our terms,” said Raymond Ojeda, the mayor pro tem.