Bill Gives Valley Redevelopment Controls in Event of Secession
The state Assembly approved a bill Tuesday that would allow the San Fernando Valley to keep control over its redevelopment projects if the Valley breaks off from the rest of Los Angeles.
The bill, SB 1375 by state Sen. Richard Alarcon (D-Sylmar), would give the Valley the option of leaving behind the troubled Community Redevelopment Agency--which has met with only limited success in its 20-year, $117-million effort to remake North Hollywood--should the Valley secede. The Senate passed the bill in April.
“The reason that [the option] may be important is that there may be a lot of debt, and the new city may not want it,” Alarcon said.
A Los Angeles County agency is now studying whether a cityhood proposal advanced for the Valley is financially feasible. One key issue is whether the new city could afford a share of Los Angeles’ debt.
If county officials find that secession would not financially harm either the new city or the rest of Los Angeles, the proposal could be put on the ballot for a vote as early as November 2002.
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