Commission Invites Public Comment on Secession

Have something to say about the San Fernando Valley’s proposed breakaway from Los Angeles? The government panel overseeing the municipal divorce proceedings wants to hear from you.

The Local Agency Formation Commission--which is about to embark on a study of Valley secession and will ultimately determine whether the issue is put to a citywide vote--will hold the first in a series of public hearings at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the County Hall of Administration in downtown Los Angeles.

LAFCO, as the state-created panel is known, will eventually hold public hearings throughout Los Angeles, including in the Valley and in San Pedro and Wilmington, where activists are also mounting breakaway bids.

Now that secession group Valley VOTE has collected signatures from one-fourth of the Valley’s registered voters, LAFCO, a nine-member appointed panel, is required by state law to study the economic effects of breaking up Los Angeles.

If the study finds the split can occur without hurting the remainder of Los Angeles, and that a Valley city would be economically viable, LAFCO will place secession on the ballot. It would need a majority vote of the Valley, as well as the entire city, to pass. Such a vote is not expected to take place until 2002 at the earliest.