COUNCIL MUST ALLOW AUDIO, VIDEO RECORDINGS RULING SAYS LOCAL PANEL IS GOVERNED BY BROWN ACT.

Byline: Carol Rock Staff Writer

AGUA DULCE - The Agua Dulce Town Council is a legal advisory body and must comply with the state open-meetings law allowing the public to make audio and video recordings of its meetings, according to a recent court ruling.

Repeated requests for records of the organization and minutes of its meetings had been ignored by the council, forcing a group of residents to bring in a video camera so they could have a record of the meetings.

``This has been going on for years,'' said Mary Johnson, who filed the lawsuit in Superior Court along with several other Agua Dulce residents. ``We're happy with the ruling. We just wanted the minutes, so we brought in our equipment.''

The five-member panel, like town councils serving Castaic, Stevenson Ranch and other areas under Los Angeles County's jurisdiction, is an advisory body to Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich. Members are elected locally. The state Brown Act requires that elected bodies hold their meetings in public and prohibits closed-door discussion if a majority is present unless the issues being discussed involve real-estate negotiations, personnel matters or some legal matters.

On April 27, the council voted to prevent the ``electronic recording of its proceedings by any outside entity.'' After the filing, the council rescinded the motion at a special meeting May 18.

Opponents of the ruling, handed down Friday by Judge Dzintra Janavs, contend that the case was brought about by proponents of the Agua Dulce Air Park, an issue that has brought a firestorm of controversy to the council.

Council Chairman Andy Fried said the panel's lack of jurisdiction over finances, planning and zoning makes it exempt from the Brown Act.

``The council is going to have to look at its various options,'' he said. ``We want to study a written copy of the decision itself, as well as the transcript of the actual hearing.''

Antonovich planning deputy Paul Novak said that, while the supervisor considers the advice and counsel of various town councils in the district, the groups are strictly advisory and have no decision-making authority. He also said other judges have ruled that town councils are not subject to the Brown Act.

``Based on what we've heard, we're disappointed with the ruling,'' Novak said. ``Our attorneys will look over the ruling, which should be in writing in seven to 10 days, and let us know what it means.''

The Town Council politics have been contentious with backers of plans to expand the small rural airport attempting to take over the Town Council through the absentee voter process in November. The election required intervention from the county, which arranged for bringing in an impartial retired city clerk to proctor the results.

Carol Rock, [phone]

carol.rock(at)dailynews.com