SECESSION SUMMIT : HAYDEN PLAN WOULD REQUIRE CITYWIDE VOTE.

Byline: David Bloom Daily News Staff Writer

State Sen. Tom Hayden, still declining to state how he would vote on the Boland bill, said Friday he would offer up an alternative measure that would require a citywide vote on an attempt by the San Fernando Valley to secede from Los Angeles.

AB 2043 by Assemblywoman Paula Boland, R-Granada Hills, would eliminate the Los Angeles City Council's ability to veto a Valley secession vote and has already passed the Assembly.

Hayden, D-Los Angeles, said he expects the measure to be defeated next month on the Senate floor. He would not say how he would vote but predicted the bill would fall two or three votes short of the 21 needed for passage.

He said he would respond by introducing his own measure, which would also eliminate the council's veto but unlike Boland's bill would mandate that any secession movement pass a citywide vote.

``In a secession vote, if you get up to a certain point of over 1 million, I think the argument for a citywide vote becomes more persuasive,'' said Hayden, whose district includes part of the Valley.

``I think a citywide vote is justifiable on moral, political and legal grounds,'' he said.

Boland, who was unable to attend the forum because of scheduling conflicts, issued a statement through her Sacramento office saying she ``had no clear idea of what Sen. Hayden said precisely or what his thoughts are regarding detachment.''

Therefore, Boland withheld comment ``until after the first of the week, when she has been able to talk directly to the senator,'' according to the statement.

Boland has previously said that a citywide vote is unacceptable on the grounds Valley residents should be able to decide on their own whether or not to leave the city.

The other Democratic senator representing the Valley, Sen. Herschel Rosenthal, D-Van Nuys, supports the measure, which is also supported by most Republicans.

Hayden's alternative was received cautiously by Richard Close, co-chairman of Valley Voters Organized Towards Empowerment and president of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association.

Close said he plans to meet with Hayden on Monday to learn more about his proposal.

``I have to know more,'' Close said. ``But this is the year to get something done.''

Hayden said his bill would also require the Local Agency Formation Commission, which makes key decisions on the viability of proposed cities, to protect the boundaries of ecosystems and communities and assure a new city is economically diverse and doesn't violate the Voting Rights Act.

Close said the LAFCO provisions could be a fatal flaw for the Hayden proposal, simply because they would involve last-minute changes with complex, far-reaching implications.

As a result, LAFCOs around the state, and their senators, would seek to delay the bill's consideration, killing its chances of passage during the brief August session.

AB 2043 is sitting in the Senate Rules Committee, which is chaired by Senate President Pro Tem Bill Lockyer, D-Hayward.

Lockyer will decide on Aug. 5, the first day the Legislature reconvenes, whether to refer the bill to one of two committees or send it directly to the Senate floor for consideration, said Sandy Harrison, Lockyer's spokesman.

Lockyer has consistently declined to take a position on the bill, Harrison said.

``The only thing he's ever said about the policy of it is that he is concerned about setting a precedent of breaking up big cities of California,'' Harrison said.

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Photo

Photo: Bob Scott, left, Richard Close, Jeff Brain and Sen.Tom Hayden discuss secession Friday.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News