Back at Home, the Issues Were Store, School and Airport

Local voters cast ballots not only on the meatier issues Tuesday, but on a few quirky ones as well--like deciding whether a Wal-Mart should be built in Palmdale, or letting a few kids switch to a more desirable school district.

Burbank voters approved a measure that will give them the final say on expansion of their regional airport, and owners of 55 homes in Woodland Hills overwhelmingly agreed to join the Las Virgenes Unified School District.

Palmdale voters also gave the green light for a land-use change that will permit a new Wal-Mart to be built in town.

Along with the three measures, 39 candidates were competing for a dozen seats in five local elections in the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys.

The Burbank Airport expansion issue has been bandied about for decades, but was tossed onto the ballot this time by the Burbank City Council. Passage of the measure does not signal support for or opposition to expansion, but only the right of residents to ultimately decide the issue. The measure requires that all action by the council, or any agreement between the city and the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority to relocate or expand the airport terminal, receive prior approval by Burbank voters.

No argument was submitted opposing the proposal.

“It gives the people the last say” on airport expansion matters, Councilman Bob Kramer said.

In a tiny enclave of Woodland Hills, abutting Calabasas, returns Tuesday showed 71 out of 119 possible voters approved Measure Q, with no opposition. The measure allows them to transfer from the troubled Los Angeles Unified School District to the more desirable Las Virgenes Unified School District.

Approval ends a decade-long split of the upscale Creekside Calabasas Park, with half of the 95-townhome complex situated in the Las Virgenes district and the other half within LAUSD boundaries.

Approval of the measure is expected to raise property values for residents, but applies immediately to only two youngsters who live within the Los Angeles boundaries of the complex.

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Only those residents of the 55 homes in the Los Angeles Unified section were eligible to vote on the measure. And all cast absentee ballots because the enclave does not have a local precinct, according to the Los Angeles County registrar of voters. The initial count of absentee ballots showed no one opposed.

Palmdale voters approved Measure T, written to affirm an earlier action by the Palmdale City Council. The council voted to change the land-use designation of a 13-acre parcel at Avenue S and 47th Street East from single-family residential to commercial, and from business park to industrial for 83 acres on Avenue O east of 7th Street West.

The 13 acres would become part of a 33-acre site for a new retail center anchored by a Wal-Mart discount store. Opponents of the measure contended the new store would ultimately become a Wal-Mart Supercenter with a full-service grocery, although Wal-Mart officials say they currently have no plans for such a store there.

Palmdale voters also were asked to fill two seats on the City Council from a field of nine candidates.

Leading those candidates seeking an unexpired term ending in a year was James A. Root, running ahead of Richard Jesse Loa, Alan L. Lee, Matthew Van Dyk and Jason Zink. Closer in the competition for another open seat that expires in 2003 were John A. Mayfield, Richard H. Norris, Sandy Corrales and Joseph Rivera Jr.

In another Antelope Valley race, 10 candidates vied for three seats on the the Antelope Valley Health Care District Board of Directors.

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Early returns showed incumbents Deborah A. Rice and Steve Fox among leaders, as well as challengers Abdallah S. Farrukh and Richard C. Elton. Other candidates include Gregory Bashem, Deanna Peugeot, Sandra F. Tulley, Alan Wallace, Diana Lou Wheeler and William Wheeler.

Incumbent George M. Lane was challenged by Robert Kopanski and Terry Rich for the Division 4 seat on the Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency Board. Phil A. Fortin, Maurice Kunkel and David A. Rizzo competed for the Division 7 seat on the board.

In the Santa Clarita Valley, three incumbents tried to hang on to their board positions on the Castaic Lake Water Agency. Issues surrounding the agency have intensified within recent months as a result of massive new development in the area.

Competing in Division 1 against incumbent William C. Cooper were Donald R. Gaskin, Loren K. Louthan and Brian Roney. Veteran Jerry Gladback was challenged in Division 2 by Mark Baldwin and Henry J. Schultz. In Division 3, appointed incumbent William Pecsi ran against Phil Hof and Charles E. Valvo.

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In another water board election, two incumbents each faced a single challenger for their seats on the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District.

They are Gordon Knopp and Kenneth E. Rufener, who squared off, respectively, against Charles P. Caspary and Glen D. Longarini. Early returns indicated all four were locked in a fierce battle.