This Time, More Government, Less Politics

The last time the Los Angeles City Council took its show on the road, there was an abundance of fine calligraphy, an absence of high drama and but one moment of low suspense.

It happened when Councilman Joel Wachs took a not-so-bold stand in favor of pet adoption. During last July’s meeting at Mission College in Sylmar, Wachs introduced a Labrador mix named Indy who was then residing at a Valley shelter.

Indy was excited by all the attention. So excited that he lifted a hind leg and. . . .

The councilman jumped out of the way. Indy, fortunately, regained his composure and proved himself auditorium-broken after all. “I think he thought I was a fire hydrant,” Wachs said as an aide quickly led Indy outdoors.

Today, the City Council will visit the San Fernando Valley once again, and this time, Councilman Mike Feuer promises, there will be more substance than show. Feuer, whose office is “hosting” the meeting at Valley College’s Monarch Hall Campus Center in Van Nuys, says the audience will see a meatier meeting than most.

Usually when the council does its infrequent barnstorming, the agenda is tailored to the locale. When Councilman Richard Alarcon hosted the Mission College meeting, the agenda featured so many parochial issues and the presentation of so many fancy scrolls that some observers suggested that politics was on display more than government.

Feuer promises more action. Take billboards, for instance. Or, to paraphrase Feuer, take billboards down, please.

The big advertising signs may seem too commonplace to be exciting. But what would make a more dramatic impact on your neighborhood: a new sports arena downtown or the removal of every billboard?

“I personally would like Los Angeles to be a billboard-free city,” Feuer said.

Lady Bird Johnson would be so pleased. Billboard eradication won’t happen tomorrow. And I, for one, would hate to see the Sunset Strip stripped of its big, bold ads. But elsewhere, it’s hard to imagine that many Angelenos would shed tears if the giant placards came down. (I suspect this would be true even for the ads that say “STILL GUILTY” or, for that matter, “Get the story. Get The Times.”)

Feuer hopes to take a first step today by introducing a motion that calls for the city attorney to quickly draft a one-year moratorium on the issuance of billboard permits. The moratorium, which Feuer hopes will become law within two weeks, would prevent companies from racing for permits as the council weighs an array of possible restrictions.

Six council members have already seconded Feuer’s motion and all he needs is eight votes for a majority. But, Feuer notes, the billboard companies are a strong lobby. When Councilman Marvin Braude introduced a similar motion in 1988, it fell one vote short.

To hear Feuer talk, billboards are the unfilled potholes of the visual landscape, a kind of high-profile clutter that distracts motorists and serves largely to uglify Los Angeles. In many neighborhoods, Feuer suggests, their removal would improve property values and make shopping districts more attractive. City inspectors are spread so thin that neighborhood groups have studied the codes themselves to fight billboards.

Feuer says it’s not only the fact that billboards exist, but what they advertise, that bothers people. They have become the medium of choice for hawking liquor and cigarettes, not to mention the occasional promotion for nightclubs featuring “exotic” dancers. Feuer suggests that while the 1st Amendment protects advertising content, the city has every right to tighten its codes.

Currently, Feuer believes, those codes are woefully lax. Imagine a street with a mix of residential and commercial uses. Billboards are prohibited within 200 feet of the homes on that street. However, a billboard may be placed on another street one block away, well within 200 feet of the homes.

Billboards aren’t the only substantive issue on today’s agenda. The council will consider a plan to use automated cameras to enforce laws against motorists who run red lights. It will also consider the hiring of consultants to work with merchants organized in business improvement districts in nine areas of the city, including Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Encino, Tarzana, Woodland Hills and Canoga Park.

Alarcon will propose the dedication of $2.6 million in grants for a new effort to combat illegal dumping. In addition to his billboard measure, Feuer will call for the expansion of a city program aimed at the removal of illegal signs--the small ones on utility poles.

There are 40 items on the agenda. Pat Healy of the city clerk’s office laughed at a Feuer news release suggesting that this meeting, which starts at 10 a.m., will adjourn about noon.

Two hours? Healy doesn’t think so. When the council goes on the road, there are usually more citizens who step forward to address the council. The meeting could last 3 1/2 or four hours, she said.

Feuer promises less pomp this time. Oh, schoolchildren will lead the Pledge of Allegiance and the Grant High School vocal ensemble will sing “The Star-Spangled Banner.” But the councilman says he will present only “three, count ‘em, three” proclamations to honor citizens for their good works.

It seems doubtful that anybody will introduce a dog for adoption. Wachs had promised to make it a monthly feature, but since his encounter with Indy, he has yet to try it again.

City Hall sources have informed me, incidentally, that Indy was placed in a good home. That self-control may have saved his life.

Scott Harris’ column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Readers may write to Harris at the Times Valley Edition, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth 91311. Please include a phone number.