EDITORIAL CITY OF VARIANCES.

AT first glance it looks like a classic battle between country folk and city slickers:

The residents of the horse-keeping area of Chatsworth are organized to fight off an attack on their way of life, an attempt to strip them of their legal protections and at the same time clear the way for too much development.

But these aren't country folk, they're Valley folk, and what they're fighting is a problem faced by residents all over the Valley - Los Angeles officials pre-empting the will of homeowners through the granting of zone changes, variances and amendments.

The root of the problem is that Los Angeles officials, elected and bureaucratic, look upon the General Plan as no plan. This development doesn't fit the plan? Amend the plan, change the wording, get a variance.

They act like it's a city without limits.

To them it's a City of Variances.

But the land is limited. And it's time our leaders sat down with residents and figured out a land-use plan that people can plan their lives on.