EDITORIAL : THIS IS THE VALLEY AND IT HAS ALL THE MAKINGS OF A FINE, INDEPENDENT CITY - IF THAT'S WHAT ITS RESIDENTS WANT.

What if the San Fernando Valley were a city?

The question is provocative, and we're glad to report that people throughout Los Angeles seem to be talking about the secession issue.

Those who think they have the most to lose from Valley cityhood are gnashing their teeth and warning that dire consequences will befall the hard-working, tax-paying, law-abiding people of the Valley unless they leave the decision to others.

It's funny, really. Because - as far as we can see - there is no serious secession movement in the Valley. Not yet.

And that is the point. The Valley has come into its political maturity, possessing power and strength and confidence. Most Valley residents apparently reject the notion that it's too risky for them to determine their own political fate.

Assemblywoman Paula Boland, a Republican from Granada Hills, has fought courageously for the right of Valley voters to create their own school district and their own city.

Her bill making it easier to split up the Los Angeles Unified School District has not sparked an unthinking rush to revolution. Instead, residents are making thoughtful, reasoned attempts to propose smaller school districts that would be run by locally elected boards and accountable to area parents.

A second legislative measure introduced by Boland - AB 2043 - would bar the City Council from vetoing secession campaigns in any part of L.A.

In today's Daily News, we find out what kind of city the Valley would be if secession ever came to pass. It would be one of America's best cities - the richest, lowest-crime big city in the nation.

The Valley would be the kind of city Mayor Richard Riordan talks about when he outlines his vision for Los Angeles: safe streets and good schools (two of the strongest factors influencing employers to locate in a city).

That is what the Valley is today as part of Los Angeles - a distinct region with a surprisingly modest crime rate (lower than other, supposedly low-crime major cities). It's also a region with initiative and a drive to self-improvement.

And that is why there's an uproar over giving the voters of the Valley the right to self-determination.

But it's critically important to give voters their voice. The 1977 state law that gave the council absolute power to block secession was mean-spirited, and absolutely must be repealed.

We - as the Valley's own newspaper - and the residents of the Valley want to preserve the wonderful qualities of our community and pass on to the next generation a Valley that is a better place to work and live and raise families.

The irony of the growing debate over self-determination for the Valley is this: If it ever comes to the question of the Valley becoming a city, we would guess much of the rest of Los Angeles just might want to join our city.

Welcome to the Valley.