Local power and wealth don't always overlap.

When a developer sought to build the first mixed-use project along Ventura Boulevard in Encino, residents in the area came out in opposition against the proposal.

Among those opponents were the Encino Property Owners Association and when the planning process was over, the project had been scaled back to 125 apartment units from the 140 units the developer originally wanted.

"Until the EPOA weighed in that project was rolling right through City Hall," said Rob Glushon, a former president of the association.

The part played by the homeowner's association in that mixed-use project is just one example of how policy changes in the San Fernando Valley don't always necessarily come from those with-great amounts of wealth.

Be it through a homeowner's group or a city-appointed commission or board, Valley residents, with wealth and without it, have a role in implementing change although whether they see themselves as being influential is a matter of perspective.

"I don't think of it as influence; I think of it as public service," said Alan Skobin, a Valley resident who sits on the Los Angeles City Police Commission.

Skobin, who by day is the general counsel for Galpin Motors, previously had served on the city's Transportation Commission and currently is a member of the state's New Motor Vehicle Board.

Originally appointed to the police commission by then-Mayor Jim Hahn and re-appointed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Skobin points to experience as a reserve sheriff's deputy, attorney and businessman as reasons why he was named to the commission, the five member body that oversees the police department, makes policy and investigates on use-of-force by its members.

Although a citywide function, Skobin said he does pay particular interest to police issues for the Valley.

"I make frequent visits to police stations because I want to hear from the officers," Skobin said. "You learn a lot from listening to people."

Activist Gordon Murley, who now sits on the South Valley Area Planning Commission, also questions whether he has influence but sees himself as being someone with skills to get people to come around to his viewpoints.

Through his involvement with the Woodland Hills Homeowners Association and the Federation of Hillside and Canyon Associations, Murley has seen victories chalked up in the name of limiting the size of homes in residential areas, restricting density in hillside areas, and challenging how the city would fund for transportation improvements.

A retired salesman, Murley applied some of the same skills on behalf of city residents and continues to do so on the planning commission.

He is never afraid to ask the tough questions and to use that information to support where you want to go, Murley said.

Looking for compromises

Also, Murley said he has learned that lobbyists, politicians and developers are open to compromise. He has also learned not to take the first offer but to get everything out on the table and then work from there.

"I find they will make changes because they would see the fallacies that they have," Murley said.

While some individuals may question how influential they can be, organizations such as homeowners associations see more tangible results from their involvement, especially in planning and zoning issues.

The key is not just the large numbers of people who get involved in those organizations but that those people know how to get things done, said Glushon, an attorney who served as an elected member to the city's charter commission in 1999.

"They are successful in business and apply the same level of can-do-attitude to the political process," Glushon said. "They don't take no from a city bureaucrat."

Richard Close has been involved with the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association for 30 years, through a succession of mayors and city council members representing the area.

That association's power comes not from political contributions made by its members, Close said but "on the ability to spot the problems and the problem makers and hold elected officials accountable for failure to solve those problems."

Tracking projects

Over the years, the association has come out in opposition to new retail projects proposed for the area, most recently a Walgreen's store proposed for the corner of Ventura Boulevard and Colbath Avenue and the Best Buy store planned for Milbank and Van Nuys Boulevard.

In the case of the Best Buy, SOHA leveraged its influence to have the developer provide $175,000 for additional traffic mitigation. The association also impressed upon City Councilwoman Wendy Greuel that it would be in her best interest to have more traffic mitigation.