BOND MEASURES FOR CITY DRAW MIXED BACKING.

Byline: Patrick McGreevy Daily News Staff Writer

In a test of public confidence in city government and the local economy, Los Angeles voters will be asked Nov. 3 to approve four new tax and bond issues totaling more than $1.04 billion to pay for upgrades to the zoo, libraries, sidewalks and Exposition Park.

If voters approve the measures by a two-third vote, Propositions CC, DD, EE and JJ would together add about $32 to the annual property tax bill of the average 1,200-square-foot home worth $162,000.

While there is near-unanimous support among city officials and community leaders for the zoo and library bond measures, there is deep division over the largest proposal, a $769.4 million special tax to pay for repairs to city sidewalks.

The City Council voted to put the measure on the ballot, arguing that city sidewalks have suffered from years of neglect so that there are now 4,600 miles of walkways that are cracked and crumbling.

However, Proposition JJ has garnered strong opposition from Mayor Richard Riordan, City Councilman Joel Wachs and Joel Fox, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, who all argue that the amount sought is excessive and they do not trust it will be well-spent.

``It's a lot of money that will be carried by the property-tax payers,'' Fox said. ``In some instances, the tax will be paid by those who don't have sidewalks for people who do have them.''

Wachs said inflation will raise the cost of the work to $1 billion, which will go to a bureaucracy that he says has mishandled sidewalk repair programs in the past.

``It's a blank check, and I don't have confidence that the money will be spent well or that all the work will be done,'' Wachs said. ``I've been around too long to watch money being wasted in that manner.''

City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, a vocal proponent of the measure, said it is a public safety issue, noting the city pays about $2 million annually to settle lawsuits by people who are injured in trip-and-fall accidents on sidewalks.

``To have sidewalks look like little mountains as you walk along is unsafe, and they certainly don't lend themselves to a city taking care of its constituents,'' Ridley-Thomas said.

Backers said the city has identified a list of problem sidewalks to be fixed during the next 20 years.

They noted that a recent national study identified Los Angeles as one of the most dangerous cities in the nation for pedestrians.

In addition to repairing sidewalks at about 200,000 locations, the measure includes $170 million to install curb cuts to comply with federal disabled-access laws.

The measure would allow the city to collect a special tax for 20 years.

If Proposition JJ is the most controversial ballot measure, then Proposition CC - which will provide $47.6 million to upgrade the Los Angeles Zoo - appears to be the most widely supported.

The bond measure is backed by Riordan, the City Council and a who's who of animal-welfare activists and celebrities, including international chimpanzee expert Jane Goodall and actors Julia Roberts, Michael Douglas, Kelsey Grammer and Betty White Ludden.

Ludden, a member of the Zoo Commission, said approval of the bond measure would continue the momentum of the past 3-1/2 years to turn around a venue that had suffered from decline.

``I think it would be such a manna-from-heaven boost not only for the zoo but for our city,'' Ludden said. ``It's one of the only places a family can go to together and afford to go to.''

Criticized early this decade for inhumane conditions, the zoo has undergone a transformation in recent years, with the construction of new, larger living spaces, including the Chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains exhibit.

``We're on such a road up, yet there is more to do,'' Ludden said.

If approved, the zoo bond measure would pay for major projects including:

Replacement of a cramped, freshwater sea lion exhibit with a larger, saltwater exhibit.

Construction of a new tropical rain forest exhibit for a variety of species.

Renovation of the zoo entrance to make it safer and more accessible to the disabled.

Replacement of the 30-year-old reptile house.

``It is dilapidated, and it's rotting. It's a mess,'' said Susan Redfield, president of Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association.

She noted that the zoo gets 1.3 million visitors annually, including 500,000 schoolchildren.

There is no organized opposition to the zoo bond measure, although Gordon Murley, president of the San Fernando Valley Federation, said he is skeptical that the money will be spent to benefit animals.

``I'm not sure I would give them the money unless it was ironclad that they can't transfer the money to other things,'' he said.

Redfield said the ballot measure does spell out the specific projects to be paid for.

``The city of Los Angeles deserves to have a great zoo,'' Redfield added. ``The money will only be used for animals.''

A poll done by the backers of the library and zoo bonds indicates the zoo measure has strong support.

About 70 percent of voters polled said they would likely vote for the zoo bond issue - and that was before an educational campaign by the measure's supporters.

Library improvements

There is also strong support for Proposition DD, which would provide $178.3 million to renovate or replace 28 libraries - including 12 in the San Fernando Valley - and build four new branches.

Barry Sanders, president of the Library Foundation of Los Angeles, said a poll done for the campaign found that 63 percent of voters favored the library measure, just short of the 66.7 percent needed for passage.

However, Sanders said the survey found that 75 percent of voters supported the measure once they got an explanation of what the bond measure would accomplish.

Library Commission President Lucy McCoy, an Encino resident, said the bond measure would significantly improve library service in the Valley and across the city.

``We're at a crossroads right now,'' McCoy said. ``Almost half of our branches were built in the 1950s and are in serious need of repair and expansion. These branches cannot provide for the incredible demand we have on our libraries throughout the city.''

Replacement branch libraries would be funded in Canoga Park, Chatsworth, Encino-Tarzana, Northridge, Pacoima, Sun Valley, Sylmar and Woodland Hills.

Branches to be renovated and expanded under the bond measure include those in North Hollywood, Sherman Oaks, West Valley and Valley Plaza.

City Councilwoman Laura Chick has formed her own committee to campaign for Proposition DD, saying a good library system is an essential element in any city's quality of life.

``All of our communities need safe places that are well-stocked with computer technology and well-stocked with books where our children and families can go to further their education and broaden their minds,'' Chick said.

Murley said he is concerned that the city will build more, larger libraries but not have anything to put in them.

``The library bond measure sounds very good, but what always gets cut in the first round of budget cuts is library hours and staff and books,'' Murley said.

Ivan Corpeno-Chavez of the Librarians Guild said the city needs upgraded libraries but he also is concerned, saying the city does not have enough librarians and books to properly operate the libraries it currently has.

However, Riordan said he and the City Council will find a way to properly staff and equip the new libraries.

``The bottom line is we don't have a choice,'' Riordan said. ``We've added a number of new libraries in last few years with a very small increase in the budget for libraries. So if we run a tight ship we can do it.''

Exposition Park

Riordan has remained neutral on the last bond measure, Proposition EE, which would provide $46.5 million to improve Exposition Park, including upgrading of the Rose Gardens and Swim Stadium, and construction of an Environmental Learning Center that will include aquarium exhibits.

Murley opposes the measure as a ``parochial, pork barrel'' taxation attempt that puts more money into buildings, when there is a greater need for open-space parkland.

However, Councilman Ridley-Thomas, who represents Exposition Park, said the projects will benefit the whole city.

``Exposition Park is fast becoming the premier recreational center for the region,'' Ridley-Thomas said. ``There are visitors taking advantage of it from throughout the city. It's in need of the resources that the voters can contribute.''

He noted that the California Science Center has become a major attraction since it opened in Exposition Park earlier this year next to the county Natural History Museum.

Murley challenged the need to expand the center with a project that will include aquarium exhibits.

``That's the biggest boondoggle of all,'' he said of the learning center. ``People can go to Long Beach if they want to see an aquarium.''

However, supporters say the facility will include much more than aquarium exhibits, including hands-on exhibits on land creatures and scientific exploration.

Proposition EE is also supported by Wachs, a Studio City resident whose East Valley council district was the second-largest source of visitors to the existing California Science Center. The single largest source of visitors was the council district surrounding the park.

``Exposition Park has enormous potential,'' Wachs said. ``I think the museums in Exposition Park do more to draw children into an intellectually stimulating environment than anything in town.''