COUNCIL HOPEFULS OPPOSE NEW TRACT.

Byline: - James Nash

Candidates seeking to represent the Northwest San Fernando Valley on the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday denounced a proposed 5,800-home development in the hills north of the Valley, saying it would ravage pristine hills and worsen traffic congestion.

Of the six candidates running in the March 4 election, only Norman Huberman said he could support the Las Lomas project, although Huberman said he needs more information before deciding.

Other candidates condemned the development, sometimes in strong terms. They said the Valley's northern rim already suffers from traffic congestion and a lack of open space, and that new developments in the hills only worsen the problems.

Las Lomas developer Dan Palmer touts the project as an example of ``smart growth,'' with homes clustered near offices, transit lines and shops. Palmer has applied to annex the 555-acre site to the city of Los Angeles. Officials in neighboring Santa Clarita oppose the project.

At a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Los Angeles City Council candidate Greig Smith likened Las Lomas to the ``now infamous Ahmanson Ranch,'' referring to the proposed 3,050-home development west of the Valley in Ventura County that has drawn a lawsuit from the Los Angeles City Council. Flanked by North Valley activists and environmentalists, Smith said he and others who oppose Las Lomas are forming an organization to press their case.

Smith said he only would consider a compromise with Palmer that does not ``allow one additional car on Balboa Boulevard,'' which would be the main north-south artery for the homes.

In phone interviews, candidates Paula Boland, Julie Korenstein, Walter Prince and Robert Vinson expressed strong opposition to Las Lomas. Huberman said he supports limited development to alleviate Southern California's housing crisis, although he hasn't received enough information on Las Lomas.

Korenstein said that while some development is inevitable, Las Lomas needs more roads and other transportation links to lessen the impacts on existing neighborhoods.

Boland said her opposition is based in large part on the fact that Santa Clarita and Los Angeles County leaders object to the development. ``It would be awful if Los Angeles annexes it just to do someone a favor,'' she said.