RV SURVEY RESULTS NEAR.

Byline: Donna Huffaker Staff Writer

LA CRESCENTA - The president of the Crescenta Valley Town Council will tally results Saturday from the bag loads of surveys that asked residents whether recreational vehicles should be allowed to park in front of homes.

``The end is in sight, Town Council president Charles Beatty said Wednesday. ``Or, maybe Saturday's the beginning. But hopefully it'll be the end of the controversy.''

The issue arose last year when residents began getting tickets for disobeying a 1991 parking ordinance that most said they didn't know existed.

The ordinance prohibits anyone from parking a trailer or recreational vehicle, such as a boat or camper, closer than 20 feet from the road and anywhere directly in front of a home, regardless of how far back from the road the structure is set.

County officials have said the law exists to prevent RVs from blocking neighbors' views as they pull out of their driveways.

The Town Council disseminated the surveys in November to 8,000 households in La Crescenta and Montrose, two unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. The nine-member council of residents advises the Board of Supervisors about local issues. The council cannot change the law, but it can recommend changes to the supervisors.

The council has stayed neutral on the issue.

Because this parking ordinance has been a hot-button issue in the hillside communities, Beatty said he has not even touched the surveys since the deadline for submission late last year. The surveys are at the post office, where they will stay until taken to the La Crescenta Library for tallying Saturday.

There, he will tabulate the responses in front of two observers - residents for and against changing the ordinance - a librarian and possibly a sheriff's deputy, he said.

One of the observers, Sharon Benoit, who has been a vocal proponent of RV owners' rights, said Wednesday she too is anxious to see the controversy conclude.

``I am excited about putting this behind us so we can move forward as a community,'' she said. ``I think it's really important for us to resolve this and to live with whatever the results are.''

The results of the survey will be posted at the library Saturday, Beatty said.

Outgoing council president Vasken Yardemian said he may call a special meeting to announce the results.

Depending on the results, Beatty said, the ordinance will either stay the same or suggestions to alter it will be given to the supervisors. If the results show the ordinance should stay the same, people whose RVs are parked illegally have until March to relocate them.