Lawmaker Urges Boroughs for Valley City

The first mayoral candidate for a proposed San Fernando Valley city said Wednesday he would push for creation of a borough system for the new municipality, but that a current borough plan for Los Angeles is “too little, too late.”

Assemblyman Keith Richman (R-Northridge) called for a Valley borough system while formally declaring his candidacy. The mayor’s race will be on the same Nov. 5 ballot as a measure that would split the Valley from Los Angeles.

Some City Council members have proposed putting a borough plan on the ballot as an alternative to the secession measure.

“It would result in very large boroughs in the city of Los Angeles and still be under the guidance of an ineffective and inefficient bureaucracy,” Richman told about 40 supporters at a North Hollywood health clinic. “Boroughs under my leadership in the San Fernando Valley are going to provide a locally responsive government that is accountable to the residents.”

Richman, 48, said he will release details of his proposal in coming weeks.

The lawmaker also outlined a platform for improving public safety and transportation in the Valley, and promised to cut taxes and speed approvals of business and construction permits to help stimulate the local economy.

Richman got a taste of the campaign give-and-take when about a dozen sign-carrying opponents of the Ahmanson Ranch housing development showed up at his news conference to protest his support of the project, planned for the eastern edge of Ventura County north of Calabasas.

“I’m here representing a lot of Valley residents to say this is a disastrous development and it is going to affect all our lives in a horrible way,” said Cristi Tandy of Woodland Hills. Richman later said he is prepared to change his mind on Ahmanson if a pending environmental study shows the 3,050-home subdivision would be wrong for the area.

“I await to see the new environmental impact report and look forward to meeting with people on both sides of the issue,” he said.

The mayoral post Richman is seeking will exist only if a majority of voters, both in the Valley and citywide, approve Valley independence. A secession proposal for Hollywood will also appear on the ballot.

Meanwhile, the Local Agency Formation Commission on Wednesday rejected a request by Valley activist Harry Coleman to reconsider its decision to put the secession measure before voters. The commission said Coleman did not pay the fee to have the request processed.

Next month LAFCO is expected to turn down the city’s request for reconsideration.

In another development, Mayor James K. Hahn’s office on Wednesday released a letter from the Studio City Residents Assn. that states it has quit the pro-secession group Valley VOTE. The association has not yet taken a position on secession. Also Wednesday, a Latino civil rights group suggested that a Hollywood city council eventually be elected by district rather than at-large. The secession measure calls for at-large council members, a system the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund says dilutes the Latino vote. MALDEF wants a switch to district elections within two years of a secession.