FRATERNITY ROW FOR CSUN? 5 OF 7 COUNCIL HOPEFULS SAY IT'S NEEDED FOR BETTER CONTROL.

Byline: James Nash Staff Writer

NORTHRIDGE - Candidates for a Los Angeles City Council seat in the Northwest San Fernando Valley vowed Thursday to pay more attention to issues at California State University, Northridge, including a proposal to concentrate the school's fraternity and sorority houses in one place.

In a debate at CSUN's Student Union, five of the seven people vying to succeed longtime Councilman Hal Bernson in the city's 12th District said they support the idea of a ``fraternity row'' near the campus. Candidate Paula Boland, a former assemblywoman, did not attend the debate and could not be reached afterward. Write-in candidate Gary Sornborger also did not attend.

Many of CSUN's fraternities and sororities are dispersed throughout surrounding neighborhoods. Homeowners have long complained about trash, noise and traffic from the fraternity houses.

City Council candidates Julie Korenstein, Greig Smith, Walter Prince, Robert Vinson, Armineh Chelebian and Norman Huberman agreed at Thursday's forum that the city should promote zoning rules that would concentrate Greek housing in one area.

Korenstein, a Los Angeles school board member, accused Smith, who worked for Bernson as chief of staff, of putting barriers in the way of a fraternity row. Korenstein said she would study the issue.

Smith said Bernson backed the idea of a fraternity row in the early 1980s, but developers built single-family homes instead.

``Ms. Korenstein has no idea what she's talking about,'' Smith said.

Huberman, a businessman and former fraternity member, said he would encourage city, CSUN and Greek system leaders to meet to develop a comprehensive plan for off-campus fraternity housing.

``Where to put them, I don't know,'' Huberman said.

Prince, a businessman, said a fraternity row would alleviate complaints because ``it's easier to control (them).''

None of the candidates suggested a location for a fraternity row. Pat Lo Presti, a spokeswoman for United Homeowners, which represents four homeowners associations in the Northridge area, said she couldn't think of an appropriate location.

``This is a congested urban area,'' Lo Presti said after the debate. ``I don't know where they could find a row of houses they would be able to put it next to.''

Thursday's debate, sponsored by Associated Students of CSUN, focused largely on town-and-gown issues. The candidates unanimously denounced higher student fees at California State University campuses, but conceded that they have little authority in the matter. The candidates also called for tougher regulations on video-game cafes, several of which surround the CSUN campus.

The loudest reaction from the more than 40 people at the debate - many of them students - came after candidates explained their positions on the City Council's recent resolution opposing a unilateral war in Iraq.

Smith, Chelebian, Huberman and Prince said the City Council should stay out of foreign affairs. Vinson and Korenstein said the council was right to oppose war.

``I'm not sure what world you're living in, but I live in a world that's incredibly interconnected, and it does matter,'' Vinson said in response to Smith's statement that the Los Angeles City Council has no role in foreign policy.