Hearing Will Be Held on 818 Area Code Split

An administrative law judge has consolidated separate complaints filed by Glendale/Burbank and Monterey Park about breaking off part of the 818 area code into a new 626 area code, and expects to hold a private hearing in mid-June with both sides, said Kyle DeVine, spokeswoman for the state Public Utilities Commission.

This is the next step in a lengthy process to settle a dispute about which communities will be saddled with a new telephone area code.

In recent years there has been a proliferation of phone numbers in major urban areas because of a surge in fax machines, cellular phones and beepers. Pacific Bell, the industry administrator on the new area code split, said that because the area is running out of phone numbers, a new area code must begin by June 1997.

Pacific Bell has recommended splitting the 818 area code in Burbank, and imposing the new 626 area code on communities from Burbank east into the San Gabriel Valley.

But Monterey Park filed a complaint in December contending that it was unfair to local businesses and customers to bear the expense of coping with a new area code. Then in March, Burbank and Glendale joined together to file a complaint arguing that they also wanted to remain in the 818 area code.

Administrative Law Judge Philip Weismehl will hold a pre-hearing conference in mid-June, perhaps in Pasadena, although a specific date has not been set and it will not be open to the public, DeVine said.

Weismehl could make his final recommendations to the state PUC by late July, DeVine said. Public hearings would then be held before the PUC makes a final decision, she said.