FEE ENFORCEMENT BACKFIRES : POLICY SPARKS RASH OF ANGRY GATE CRASHERS.

Byline: Dennis Love Daily News Staff Writer

For Maria Andujar of Winnetka and her family, it was a jolting, unexpected and thoroughly disappointing end to what had been a perfect Fourth of July.

A festive day of barbecuing ribs and visiting friends originally had been planned to come to a rousing conclusion with the traditional fireworks display at Los Angeles Pierce College.

But when Andujar, her husband and two children walked over to the Pierce campus around 7 p.m., they discovered that to enter the gates and pitch camp on the field near the stadium would cost them $30 - $10 for each adult, $5 for each child.

``We've always just walked over and sat on the field and watched the show,'' she said Friday. ``It was a very community-oriented thing. But (Thursday) it would have cost $30 . . . that seems unfair to me.''

Andujar wasn't alone.

For years, the annual fireworks show at Pierce has been a Fourth of July tradition. But a strict new admissions policy at the gates Thursday resulted in widespread resentment and some crowd and traffic-control problems, and may signal a fundamental change in one of the San Fernando Valley's premier summer events.

In addition, many hundreds of other people who traditionally watched the fireworks show from Pierce property leased to the Sunrise Little League across from the college also were shut out.

The Little League locked the gates to the public.

``We had hundreds of complaint calls (Thursday), and I don't know how many more at the gates,'' said Pierce College campus police Lt. Ted Barnes. ``For 20 years, people have come here on the Fourth with their families to spread a blanket and watch the fireworks. This year they were surprised and upset by the expense.''

On a tumultuous evening that also featured an emergency landing by a small plane on nearby Victory Boulevard shortly after the fireworks began, Pierce and Los Angeles police had to deal with groups of angry gate-crashers and ``unbelievable'' overflow residential traffic in the campus area because of the new policy, said Los Angeles police Sgt. Bob Weisz.

``There were a lot of very upset and indignant people,'' he said.

Gary Barr, president of the Woodland Hills Chamber of Commerce, sponsors of the Pierce event for 22 years, said the admission prices for the event weren't new.

The difference Thursday, he acknowledged, was beefed-up gate security meant to increase revenues for the chamber's ``signature event'' that he said barely made a profit last year.

In the past, Barr said, people like Andujar who walked onto the campus and staked out a spot on the vast property surrounding the stadium weren't charged; admission fees were charged only those who wanted entry into the stadium where the fireworks and other events actually were staged.

People driving cars onto the campus in years past were charged for parking, but, again, not charged individually except at the stadium.

On Thursday, everyone who wanted access to the campus - whether in cars or on foot - was charged at the gate. ``From that point on, everyone inside had access to everything,'' Barr said. ``Yes, some people were upset . . . but I also had at least 10 people come up to me and tell me how much they liked the new system.''

Barr said the reasons for the new policy were twofold: A new, expanded ``carnival show'' that spilled outside the stadium ``forced us to figure out a way to secure the entire campus,'' he said. The second reason, predictably, was money.

Barr said the 1995 event netted only about $3,000 to $4,000 after expenses, ``not really worth the time and effort of the 200 volunteers working on the event.'' He said it costs at least $50,000 to put on the show, which includes not only fireworks but other exhibitions such as skydivers.

``Basically, we had an untold number of people watching the show for free,'' he said. ``The only way we could justify having the event again this year was to expand it, something the community had said it wanted, and then make sure we charged everyone who came onto the campus.'' The chamber rents the campus from Pierce College for ``in excess of $20,000,'' Barr said.

Barr said the chamber won't know ``for a couple of weeks at least'' how much profit Thursday's show generated. But with on-campus attendance estimates ranging from 13,000 (Barr's estimate) to as many as 20,000 (the campus police estimate), it would appear the gross will be fairly healthy.

``This is the only way that this event can survive,'' he said. ``We'll sit down in a few weeks and review everything and see if we need to do anything differently. But these changes had to be made, and I view (Thursday) as part of an educational process that perhaps we had to go through.''

Barr said the chamber actually lowered prices from last year, when adults were charged $13, and children and seniors $9. ``That was too high,'' he said. ``So this year we decided to go with lower prices and better security.''

Meanwhile, the public relations fallout from that decision continued Friday as people continued to vent their frustration at what they perceived as an unwelcome change in the spirit of the popular event.

``The Fourth of July is supposed to be a time when the community comes together,'' said Gloria Simms, a friend of Andujar's who said her stretch of Oxnard Street was jammed with people and cars who had turned away from the campus to watch the display from afar. ``I don't blame people for being upset. It's no different from gouging.''

Even the police were unhappy about the way the event was handled.

``They outlawed fireworks in the city way back when and said that the public would be able to see fireworks safely in city parks, handled by the Fire Department,'' said Weisz. ``Sometime I think we should go back to that. On the Fourth, people expect to see fireworks. But it's more and more about money.''

``It's unfortunate that people are upset,'' Barr responded. ``But I understand there are free events elsewhere in the Valley . . . maybe next year people who are uncomfortable with the cost will consider some alternatives.''

CAPTION(S):

Photo

Photo: (color) People watch the July 4 fireworks from a dis tant, but cost-free, outpost on Victory Boulevard.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News