COUNCIL SIZE BIG ISSUE FOR VALLEY CITY; PRESENT LAW LIMITS MEMBERS.

Byline: Michael Coit Staff Writer

If a San Fernando Valley city is formed, residents could have the chance to create a larger council than allowed under state law and gain greater control over local government.

While a study on cityhood's financial viability won't start until spring and a vote could be more than two years away, it's not too early to envision how a Valley city might operate, say leaders of Valley Voters Organized Toward Empowerment.

The most important issue could be the city council's size. The cityhood movement, after all, is largely driven by discontent with local control and representation by the 15-member Los Angeles City Council.

``We're very concerned about having a very democratic city and want to make sure there are as many council members as makes sense,'' said Richard Katz, a Valley VOTE official and former state Assembly member from the Valley.

``Frankly, when people think of (new cities), they think of smaller cities. You've never had this many people try something like this, which is why we think the law should be changed,'' he explained.

Law change sought

Assemblyman Robert Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, is expected to introduce a measure dealing with the representation issue during the state legislative session that begins Jan. 3.

``Currently, without any change in the law all you could do is have five council people. Obviously if part of the concern that led up to whether there should be a Valley city is the level of local representation, five council seats might not solve the problem,'' said Paul Hefner, spokesman for Hertzberg.

Under the state constitution a new Valley city could be formed only as a general-law city with five council members. The council can later expand the number of members to seven or nine, but Valley VOTE wants to give voters the option to approve a larger council with the cityhood vote.

Valley VOTE has not taken an official position on the best number of council members for a Valley city.

But a leading proposal would create in state law a ratio of one council member for every 100,000 residents for large cities.

The Local Agency Formation Commission, which oversees the process, also could be given authority to lower the ratio for smaller cities.

More council members

The Valley would have 13 council members under the proposal, given the current population of about 1.3 million. The number could increase based on population growth between now and a vote in 2002, at the earliest.

Valley VOTE leaders said a larger, more representative council goes to the vision of a city that gives residents greater local control over neighborhoods and decisions affecting their quality of life. They said a larger council also would ensure city government is more accessible, accountable and responsive.

``Valley VOTE believes there has to be an adequate number of council people in order to have an efficient and effective government,'' said Richard Close, chairman of the group's board. ``When you're incorporating smaller cities, five is fine. But when you're incorporating 1.3 million, five is not acceptable.''

With some 1.3 million residents, a Valley city with five council members would make each a representative for about 260,000 residents.

Even the current L.A. City Council offers slightly more representation. With a population of 3.6 million, the city's 15 council members each represent about 240,000 residents.

Leaders of the cityhood effort in the San Pedro-Wilmington area support the change to allow more council members in larger cities. With a population of about 200,000, however, the city might be served well by a five-member council.

``Giving more flexibility for cities is always a plus,'' said Andrew Mardesich of the Harbor Study Foundation. ``We would support increasing it with legislation so the people would have the option to propose a council larger than that.''

Katz said the proposal's timing is important because the representation issue must be settled before a cityhood ballot measure is proposed.

``It's going to take a lot of work and frankly we need to allow as much time as possible,'' Katz said.

``It ought to be obvious to people who favor good local control. But I could see opponents of secession who don't want to make something more palatable for people voting on secession,'' he explained.