FIRMS TO DECIDE DISTRICT'S FATE.

Byline: Brent Hopkins and Mariel Garza Staff Writers

CHATSWORTH - In the face of a critical city report and a petition drive, the Los Angeles City Council decided Tuesday to let business owners determine the fate of the Chatsworth Business Improvement District.

The report, received Monday, confirmed some of the complaints by opponents, who had gotten signatures of 144 business owners on a petition calling for disbanding the district.

Councilman Hal Bernson said he was swayed by the intense opposition to the district.

``We had calls and a lot of questions raised about the practices,'' he said.

He questioned the BID's relationship with the Chatsworth/Porter Ranch Chamber of Commerce, whose chief executive officer, Ivy Weiss, administers the project and serves on its board of directors.

``Frankly, while I'm very supportive of the Chatsworth Chamber and very supportive of the BID process, I think there are some things that need to be raised here and looked at here,'' Bernson said.

One of Bernson's chief concerns is the $1,000 monthly office rent that the chamber charges the district.

Those offices are in the Chatsworth train station, owned by the city of Los Angeles, which is not charging the chamber for its office space, Bernson said.

The audit, prepared by City Clerk J. Michael Carey, addressed this issue.

``The Chatsworth BID should strongly consider formalizing its agreement in writing with the Chamber of Commerce to provide administrative services,'' the report said.

The report also questioned the close relationship of the two organizations, saying it ``may cloud the focus of the BID.''

Carey's report also addressed a series of other issues, saying the BID needed better accounting and more strict contract management.

For example, a failed attempt to put on a street fair resulted in a loss of $8,000, which the report found should be addressed in the future by formalizing service agreements in writing.

BID Chairman Dick Pearson, a property manager, complained he hadn't been given ample opportunity to rebut the report's findings before Bernson proceeded in putting its fate back in the hands of businesses.

``All I can say that Councilman Bernson never gave the people who have been working for four years on this a chance to explain on this,'' Pearson said.

``I intend to answer these point by point. The board is pleased that we'll have to re-vote because it'll give us the chance to get this in front of the stakeholders. We're confident this will be renewed because we'll have a chance to tell the people who signed the petition what this project is really all about.''

The petition drive was initiated by Denise Schaum and John Stevenson, who were unhappy with the district's performance. Schaum owns Denise's Pet Groomers and Stevenson owns an auto repair shop south of the 1.5-mile improvement district along Devonshire Street between Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Jovita Avenue.

While not in the district, Stevenson was worried it would expand into his neighborhood and he would have to pay additional taxes to support it. Their action prompted Bernson to ask for the audit.

The matter first went to the council in early August and it was waiting for the city clerk's audit.

Stevenson said the clerk's report vindicated his position.

``Every claim I made was true,'' he said. ``I got all the information from their paperwork. I had no reason to make it up because it's there for anyone who wants to study it. It's total mismanagement. If people are going to be on the BID, they need to be go-getters who can get people involved. If you can't get that, it won't go anywhere.''