SEPARATE STATUS FOR VALLEY? CENSUS SHOULD SUPPLY LOCAL DATA, LEADERS SAY.

Byline: Beth Barrett Staff Writer

San Fernando Valley leaders are pressing the U.S. Census Bureau and other government agencies to create a special designation for the Valley that would expedite collection of local population, social and economic data.

Census workers collect data on the city of Los Angeles, but extracting Valley figures from that data is complex, time-consuming and often expensive.

The proposal, which is scheduled to be considered at today's Valley Industry and Commerce Association board meeting, has the backing of U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Sherman Oaks, among others.

'`I believe the San Fernando Valley is probably the largest entity in the country that doesn't have a separate census breakdown,'' Sherman said Monday. ``It would certainly help us in our day-to-day work.''

Daniel Blake, director of the San Fernando Valley Economic Research Center at California State University, Northridge, strongly favors creating a census designation for the Valley.

``It's a real service to the community,'' he said about the proposal.

Blake said sorting Valley data by tracts, the small subdivisions the census uses, would help everyone - from civic leaders to the business community.

``By having the data systematically available, it would improve business- making decisions,'' which often are made on the basis of census data, he added.

Politicians, economists and demographers have long been frustrated by their inability to obtain quick, reliable data on the Valley's population, which the California Department of Finance estimated in January at 1,421,356.

``Eight out of 10 things aren't done, because it's too big of a hassle,'' Sherman said.

He suggested that the entire Southern California delegation might agree to a written endorsement of the plan.

James Christy, U.S. Census Bureau regional director in Van Nuys, said staffers in Washington, D.C., are reviewing the feasibility of creating a census designation for the Valley.

The proposal - and others designed to improve Valley data reporting and to create regional planning areas with nearby cities - was drafted by Bob Scott, vice chairman of VICA's government organization committee.

Scott said an ongoing means of collecting data has been needed since the end of the cityhood drive and the Local Agency Formation Commission studies that provided an unprecedented look at the financial, political and other relationships between the Valley and the rest of Los Angeles.

``This is no longer about the Valley versus the city,'' said Scott, a leader in last year's secession movement. ``This is more about the Valley being able to manage itself from a social and economic-development standpoint.''

Scott also is recommending creating planning areas that would recognize the geography of the Valley, including the cities of Burbank, Calabasas, Glendale and San Fernando.

He said the Valley is now sometimes grouped with other outlying areas, such as San Pedro, 40 miles to the south, for regional planning purposes.

Beth Barrett, [phone]

beth.barrett(at)dailynews.com