An Agenda for 1998

In the waning days of every year, most folks tend to look around, take stock and envision the year ahead. Whether it’s a resolution to drop a few extra pounds or save a few extra dollars, the tradition of looking back at the year that was and forward to the year ahead proves a useful exercise in ordering priorities and establishing goals. With that in mind, The Times reviews key issues of 1997 in the San Fernando Valley and offers wishes for 1998.

Planning. With the local economy enjoying continued growth, pressure is once again mounting to build. Office vacancy rates in 1997 reached lows not seen since the 1980s. Home values surged, pushing median prices to nearly $170,000 and keeping real estate agents busier than they’ve been since 1989. Across northern Los Angeles County, projects that lay dormant through the recession--such as Warner Ridge--are stirring once again, and new developments--such as Newhall Ranch--are gaining momentum.

The year ahead will be the true test of whether the Valley learned anything from the hectic growth of the 1980s, when homeowners and developers clashed over projects that changed neighborhoods forever. Developers might take a cue from shopping-mall builder Rick Caruso, whose projects generally skip through the approval process because he listens to what neighbors want. Homeowners would do well to consider the regional benefits of a project before lambasting it with reflexive Not In My Back Yard rhetoric.

In 1997, planners and public officials demonstrated that they are serious about encouraging growth without ruining the character of neighborhoods. For instance, Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and City Councilman John Ferraro negotiated big cuts in the proposed expansion of Universal Studios. After the remaining questions over noise and lighting are worked out with neighbors, the revised project deserves a green light.

We encourage similar give-and-take with Newhall Ranch, the giant housing project proposed for the hills west of Santa Clarita. With a projected population of 70,000 in 25 years, Newhall Ranch is the largest housing project in the county’s history. Earlier this month, the bulk of the project was approved by the Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission. It now deserves careful scrutiny by politicians who must consider the project’s effects on regional growth patterns. For that reason, Los Angeles County supervisors must listen closely to the concerns of Ventura County residents, who fear degradation of the Santa Clara River watershed.

The fate of a waterway also played a role in the City Council’s rejection of a golf course in the Tujunga Wash. The Red Tail Golf and Equestrian Center was the wrong project for an ecologically sensitive canyon that is home to endangered plants. The council must stick to its position, despite the legal threats from the developer. The developer should return to the council with a better project.

Public safety. Most crimes fell in 1997, but most Valley residents hardly feel safe. They want what we want: more uniformed cops on the street. Los Angeles Police Chief Bernard Parks had the right idea when he ordered more officers out of stations and back on patrol. People feel safer when they see black-and-white patrol cars cruising their neighborhoods, when they know the cops on the beat and feel they can approach them. That only happens when police are part of the community they serve. But the Valley--like the entire city--needs more cops.

To his credit, Parks recognizes the role of the Valley. One of his first official speaking engagements as chief was to a packed crowd at a meeting of the Studio City Residents Assn. Since then, he has made regular appearances in the Valley. He should continue to show the Valley that it is an important part of the city by spending as much time as possible here and continuing to use Valley divisions as testing grounds for pilot programs. Among the initiatives tested in the Valley: cameras in patrol cars and allowing officers to report “quality of life” crimes such as graffiti to city departments for quick cleanup.

Although gang injunctions are politically popular to clean up problem neighborhoods, The Times urges both police officials and politicians to use caution when implementing them. We agree that injunctions are effective at sweeping thugs from a neighborhood, but they should be part of a package of tactics. For instance, Burbank used a gang injunction to clear its Elmwood Avenue neighborhood, then followed up with a burst of programs that included buying rundown apartments and refurbishing them. That’s the kind of comprehensive approach that works.

Transportation. Fighting traffic got no easier in 1997--and it’s doubtful things will improve much in 1998. But the strategies reached in the coming year will dictate whether the Valley--and Southern California as a whole--ever gets a mass-transit system that works. Recognizing the obvious, officials at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority have suspended rail projects beyond the Metro Rail line to North Hollywood. Reluctantly, Valley leaders gave up the dream of a rail line connecting North Hollywood to Warner Center and wisely agreed to focus instead on improving the region’s bus service. The coming year should be spent figuring out how to improve existing service--not how to bring fancy, new technologies to the Valley. More frequent buses on more flexible routes are the key to making transit work in the Valley.

Improving the lot of passengers at Burbank Airport depends on whether the two sides fighting over terminal expansion can sit down and talk out a solution. Both the city of Burbank and the autonomous authority that runs the airport agree that expansion is necessary but disagree on the fundamental issue of size. Fighting over the airport has dragged on since the early 1970s. The names on the lawsuits change, but the acrimony and distrust remain constant. In 1998, it would be nice to see the current negotiations flourish and actually produce a deal that’s acceptable to both Burbank and the airport authority.

Education. Class-size reduction incentives shrank the number of students in many classes, but put pressure on officials from the Los Angeles Unified School District to find extra teachers and extra space. We encourage efforts to complete Gov. Pete Wilson’s vision of reducing classes between kindergarten and third grade to fewer than 20 students. In 1998, efforts should focus on kindergarten and third grade, where the greatest amount of work remains.

Space for these smaller classes is available at any of the nearly dozen or so schools that remain shuttered in the Valley. In September, Garden Grove Elementary in Reseda reopened, allowing kids to return to a neighborhood school. The district is expected to grow by 50,000 students over the next three years and opening more schools prevents the kind of crowding that undermines faith in the troubled system. Plus, vibrant schools are a far greater asset to neighborhoods than abandoned campuses.

Most important, though, the district must not let another year pass before every Valley classroom is equipped with air conditioning. Voters were clear last year when they passed Proposition BB, the school bond measure that raised money to repair and renovate rundown schools. They wanted their kids to attend classes that were safe, clean and hospitable. Despite winter’s chill, it won’t be long before students may be baking again in stifling classrooms. It can--and should--be avoided.

Municipal government. Anyone who lives in Los Angeles knows how difficult it can be to make a difference in the city’s bureaucracy. That universal frustration with the nation’s second-largest city gave birth to the movements that resulted in passage of a bill that clears the way for the Valley to break off and form its own government. The Times makes no secret of its opposition to splitting Los Angeles, but critics have a point when they call the city’s government unresponsive, arrogant and out of touch.

The only way to fix that is for the men and women of the City Council to change the way they treat one another and the city as a whole. Charter reform may force change upon the council, but we urge members to change their ways voluntarily. Rather than treating the city as 15 fiefdoms, the council should consider Los Angeles as a whole and work to make a great metropolis greater. Make the city more responsive to the needs and desires of its residents.

Will it happen?

Not likely.

But this is, after all, the season for wishes.