Valley CRA Backers Win Panel Control

Supporters of a controversial redevelopment proposal for the northeast San Fernando Valley appeared Wednesday to have won a majority of seats on a key committee, according to city officials.

The semiofficial results tallied Wednesday gave candidates on pro-redevelopment slates 11 of the 18 seats up for election last Friday, according a tally released by the city clerk’s office.

Combined with pro-redevelopment members already in office, supporters of the project will number 13 of the 23 members of the Project Area Committee elected by the community--if the results hold up.

“I’m very encouraged,” said Carol Silver, who won a seat representing the Sun Valley Chamber of Commerce. “The northeast Valley has been the stepchild of the city for a long time. We need to attract manufacturing to the area. We need positive growth.”

Some of the results could change if 24 voters who were disqualified by the Los Angeles city clerk successfully challenge their ineligibility.

Those who oppose the Community Redevelopment Agency’s plan to create the city’s largest redevelopment project area, with 6,835 acres, voiced disappointment--but not surprise, saying that Los Angeles City Councilman Alex Padilla engineered a massive outpouring of pro-redevelopment voters.

“They swamped us,” said Don Lippman, one of the few anti-CRA candidates to win a seat on the panel. “We knew we would lose.”

Padilla said he was pleased with the results and the high level of public participation.

The redevelopment plan has been delayed for more than a year, in part because the Project Area Committee lacked a quorum, but also because required studies were not completed until recently.

“Now that the vacancies have been filled, the Project Area Committee is empowered to get back to the task at hand: identifying specific areas of blight within the project area and moving forward with the revitalization of the northeast San Fernando Valley,” Padilla said in a statement.

“The voice of Valley residents was heard over the din of outside agitators,” according to David Gershwin, a spokesman for Padilla.

The election, in which a record 214 votes were cast for 43 candidates, was a milestone for proposals to attack blight in the northeast Valley.

The Community Redevelopment Agency proposed to spend about $490 million over the next four decades to spur development in an area that includes parts of Sylmar, Pacoima, Arleta, Sunland-Tujunga, Lake View Terrace, Sun Valley, North Hollywood, Mission Hills, Panorama City, Reseda and Van Nuys.

Even some of those who won election and support redevelopment said the plan needs to be scaled back.

Gary Forsch, an owner of Roscoe Hardware in Sun Valley, said the panel can now move a scaled-back plan to the council.

Forsch said he supports excluding from the project a few areas where property owners favor being left out, including sections of Lake View Terrace and Panorama City. Forsch said the rest of the northeast Valley needs redevelopment.

“There is nothing happening here now,” he said. “We want to create jobs.”

Jim Leahy, vice chairman of the PAC who appeared to have been ousted Wednesday by Silver, said he still hopes the election results will not mean the project will go forward.

“I think the new slate will walk in pro-redevelopment but they will eventually see through it,” said Leahy, who has asked Padilla to kill the project.

Leahy and other anti-CRA candidates said they support efforts to revitalize the northeast Valley but do not believe the city agency should be brought in to do the work.