Recall of Trustees Threatened Over College Tax Plan

Backed by hundreds of angry protesters, three of the largest homeowners federations in Los Angeles County on Wednesday announced their intent to recall Los Angeles community college trustees for preparing to enact an annual tax that would affect 1 million property owners.

More than 500 people, most of them opponents, turned out for a final public hearing on the controversial proposal Wednesday night. The Los Angeles Community College District’s Board of Trustees was slated to vote on the measure later in the evening.

“This is egregious what you’re doing. It’s almost un-American,” said Patricia Bell Hearst, president of the Federation of Hillside and Canyon Assns., which joined with the San Fernando Valley Federation and the Westside Civic Federation to announce the recall attempt at the meeting.

District officials want to levy a $12-per-year tax on homeowners, and varying amounts for other types of property throughout the 882-square-mile community college district, to improve college facilities. Opponents have so far failed to persuade the trustees to let the public vote on the issue.

The homeowner groups, which claim to represent more than 500,000 residents, said they would attempt to recall any trustee voting for the tax. The groups said they would need signatures from 10%--more than 100,000 people--of the district’s voters to place a recall measure on the ballot.

Protesters streamed to microphones to denounce the tax.

One man who had been shouting throughout the meeting was removed by college district police when he tried to approach the trustees’ dais. The trustees have received letters of protest from owners of about 23,000 properties, district officials said.

Much of the furor has centered on whether the district’s seven-member board can legally impose the tax--through a so-called landscaping and lighting assessment district--as early as November, without getting voters’ approval required for many other tax measures by Proposition 13.

Under the proposal, the district would levy an annual tax of $12 on owners of nearly 770,000 houses. The tax would come to $9.36 per unit on the owners of nearly 900,000 apartments and condominiums, $66 per acre on commercial property and $51.36 per acre on industrial property. The charges could begin this November and last for 20 to 30 years.

The district wants to raise about $21 million annually with the tax, which district officials call an assessment.

The district could then issue long-term bonds--to be repaid by income from the tax--to fund about $205 million in maintenance projects at the nine college campuses.

However, under the 1972 state Landscaping and Lighting Act, the colleges cannot use the assessment proceeds directly to add classes or make other academic improvements, such as renovating classroom buildings.

They can use the money only to spruce up lighting, landscaping, parking and recreational facilities--although they then could divert other funds from such projects to academic purposes.

The district’s board would pick the actual projects from a list of more than $445 million in proposals by the colleges.

For instance, Southwest College wants $2 million for state-of-the-art scoreboards, City College wants $54 million to buy and develop a park, East Los Angeles College wants $20 million for a stadium parking structure, and Pierce College wants $6.9 million to build a 2,500-seat equestrian complex.

The college district includes all of the Los Angeles Unified School District, plus the territory of more than half a dozen suburban school districts. Thus, affected property owners are in the city of Los Angeles and most of the San Fernando Valley, although areas with their own college districts, such as Glendale, are excluded.

But obstacles remain. The state Assembly earlier this month voted to deduct $1.10 from the college district’s state funding for every $1 raised through the assessment district, which would effectively kill college officials’ plans.

That measure is awaiting consideration in an Assembly-Senate conference committee, and would have to be approved by the state Senate and signed by Gov. Pete Wilson to become law. The measure is sponsored by Assembly Majority Leader James E. Rogan (R-Glendale) and Assemblywoman Paula L. Boland (R-Granada Hills).

Meanwhile, tax foes led by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. expect to hear later this month that their “Right to Vote on Taxes Act”--which also could affect the district’s efforts--has qualified for the November state ballot. Proponents say that measure would expand the range of taxes and assessments that require property owner approval.

Joel Fox, the group’s president, said he does not expect to file a lawsuit challenging the college district’s efforts, because the state Supreme Court already ruled in 1992 that public agencies have the right to enact such assessments without the approval of affected property owners. “A lawsuit I don’t think would prevail,” he said.

However, Jonathan Coupal, the group’s director of legal affairs, said the Jarvis ballot measure could force the college district to get public approval of its assessment plan even if the plan is already in force, because not all of the money would go to repay bonds. Under the ballot measure, preexisting levies would be exempt only if they raised money exclusively to repay bonds.