AGOURA HILLS : City Founder Pavley to Leave Council

Fran Pavley, the only founding member still on the Agoura Hills City Council, said Friday she will not run for reelection when her current term expires in three years.

Pavley, who helped establish the city in 1982, said she will simply be ready to move on after spending 20 to 30 hours per week at the largely volunteer job for 15 years.

“I’ve accomplished most of what I set out to do, and it’s time to say, ‘enough,’ ” Pavley said. “When I first became a council member, my children were little kids of 3 and 5. Now one is off to college and the other is in high school.”

Her disclosure comes as a group of anti-tax advocates is petitioning for a recall of the entire City Council over a recently approved tax on the use of utilities.

Pavley said she made her decision not to run again during last year’s election, long before the recall effort.

The volatile nature of Agoura Hills politics, though, has taken its toll on Pavley, who often is a lightning rod for dissent.

“I do get tired of a small group of vocal people who really don’t contribute to the best interests of the community taking so much of my time,” Pavley said. “I somehow seem to get the credit or the blame for many decisions that are made.”

Pavley counts among her major accomplishments as a council member the approval of tough ordinances protecting hillsides and oak trees and the construction of four new parks since the city incorporated.

Pavley said she expects to become president of the Los Angeles County chapter of the League of California Cities, representing 88 municipalities, starting next year.

Recall organizer Barbara Murphy called Pavley’s disclosure “wonderful news,” but said there are no plans to exclude her from the recall effort.

“I certainly think she’s accomplished some positive things,” Murphy said. “But I think she’s lost touch with the need to represent the majority of people in the city.”

First-term Councilman Ed Corridori, who owns Copy-Rite Printing in Agoura Hills, called the criticism “undeserved.”

“She’s one of finest public servants any city could expect to have,” Corridori said. “She’s given so much of her time and gone way beyond what anyone could expect of a council member.”