Council May Review Cut in Quake Aid

Los Angeles City Council members from the San Fernando Valley may get a second chance to vote on a proposal that seeks to cut more than $8 million in aid to replace quake-damaged housing, officials said Friday.

A dispute on the matter arose earlier this week when the council voted to allocate $47 million in redevelopment money to build and repair the city’s housing stock.

Valley Councilmen Zev Yaroslavsky and Richard Alarcon had offered a plan to set aside $23 million of the funds for quake-damaged housing. But the plan lost on a 6-6 vote, with Yaroslavsky and Valley Councilmen Hal Bernson and Joel Wachs absent.

The council instead approved an alternative plan by Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas to set aside $14.7 million for quake-damaged areas--$8.3 million less than previously proposed--and to designate $14 million for areas damaged by the 1992 riots. The remaining $18.3 million would go into a pool for housing projects citywide.

Valley council members who were absent were furious, saying the vote should have been delayed until they were all present.

On Friday, Ridley-Thomas and Alarcon introduced a motion that would allow the council to vote Tuesday on whether to reconsider the item. At least 10 of the 15 council members must vote to reconsider the item before a second vote is scheduled.

If the council votes to reconsider the matter, a final decision will be made Aug. 30.

“I am pleased the City Council will now have the opportunity to look at the entire matter in order to make the best decision for the city of Los Angeles,” Alarcon said.

Ridley-Thomas, who represents some of the neighborhoods hardest hit by the 1992 riots, said Friday that he has no objections to bringing the matter to another vote. He said his only objection was to delaying the allocation of the money.