Council OKs $265,000 to Study Effects of Breakup

Despite reservations, the City Council on Wednesday voted to spend $265,000 on studies of the financial effects of the San Fernando Valley and Harbor area breaking from Los Angeles.

The council voted 10 to 1, with Councilman Nate Holden in opposition, to pay $225,000 toward the Local Agency Formation Commission’s $2.2-million study of Valley cityhood and $40,000 toward the agency’s $400,000 study of Harbor cityhood. The remaining money has been allocated by the state and county.

Councilman Mike Feuer, an opponent of secession, said the council’s vote “recognizes the importance of getting good, hard facts that will be analyzed with great care.”

Councilwoman Laura Chick of Tarzana, who is neutral on secession, said the study will yield good information on cost and how services would be split.

“Whether it moves the San Fernando Valley or Harbor area toward becoming a separate city or not, I’m hopeful the information can be used to self improve,” Chick said.

But Holden said any studies are “going to be a waste of the taxpayers’ money in the long run. I don’t think there is going to be a vote for [secession]. When those communities learn how much they will have to pay for additional services, they are going to give up on the idea.”

Richard Close, the chairman of Valley VOTE, disagreed.

“Based on my analysis, I think it’s unquestionable the Valley can operate as a separate city,” Close said.

Steve Shorr, a member of the Harbor secession group, predicted that study “will show it is viable, and I think the city will clean up its act while the study is going on.”

LAFCO must determine that secession will not financially harm the new city or the old city before the agency can call for a vote.

The studies are expected to take about two years, said Larry Calemine, executive director of LAFCO.