Forum Highlights Difficulties of Secession

A panel of experts on San Fernando Valley secession agreed Tuesday that the road to municipal divorce will be long and contentious even before a vote can take place.

More than 80 people heard such panelists as Larry Calemine, head of the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), which will decide whether Valley cityhood should be placed on the ballot. While secessionists, such as Jeff Brain from Valley VOTE, were in the audience, the discussion, moderated by former City Councilwoman Joy Picus, was limited to the secession process and the scope of studies about to begin.

The LAFCO process kicked off last week after secessionists collected signatures of 133,000 qualified registered voters, or one-fourth of all voters in the Valley.

“Unfortunately, now it’s my problem,” said Calemine, describing the commission’s role in analyzing the economic impact of possible separation. “I don’t know how we’re going to handle this with a staff of 4 1/2 people.”

So many questions need to be resolved that the debate could be tied up in the courts and in public hearings for years, said Calemine, whose organization is charged with determining whether the separation is feasible. He characterized the upcoming battle as “the legal profession’s fantasy and LAFCO’s nightmare.”

If LAFCO agrees to put the issue before voters, approval is required by both a majority in the Valley and in Los Angeles as a whole, Calemine said.

Economist Beverly Burr outlined the complexities of dividing the city’s assets, citing problems such as the lack of available lists of equipment and facilities of local agencies. She also said that the huge debt accumulated by the city to supply power and water requires the retention of all customers.