Council Urges PUC to Keep 818 Intact

At the behest of Councilwoman Laura Chick, the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday urged the state Public Utilities Commission to keep the 818 area code intact in the San Fernando Valley.

The unanimous resolution comes a day after Assemblyman Wally Knox (D-Los Angeles), a leading opponent of area code splits and overlays, called for the same thing, asking the PUC to halt a backup plan for dividing the 818 region if its phone numbers run out.

Chick told her colleagues she wanted to “send a message to the PUC that we’re really getting tired of them ignoring direction from the governor and the Legislature.”

Two months ago, Gov. Gray Davis signed a law requiring the commission to allocate phone numbers more efficiently by studying how available numbers are being used before dividing area codes or imposing overlays. The PUC announced last month that, if number-conservation efforts fail, it will split the 818 area code and assign a 747 prefix to the West Valley.

“It’s as though the PUC didn’t hear us,” Chick said. “It kind of boggles the mind, after there’s already been state legislation supported by the governor and widely supported by residents. We want all alternatives explored and the games played about saving numbers to be stopped, because it’s a great inconvenience to keep splitting up area codes.”

The state’s effort to rein in area code proliferation comes amid public outcry over the trend in Southern California--particularly in West Los Angeles, where a short-lived overlay plan required residents to dial 11 digits even for local calls.

Under the new reforms, phone companies must reveal how many numbers they hold in various area codes, limit the new numbers given out and prevent hoarding of unused numbers.

The city’s resolution asks the PUC to explore all other options before splitting the 818 code and instructs the city attorney to monitor the commission.