Padilla Opposes Eminent Domain City Councilman Alex Padilla proposed prohibiting the Community Redevelopment Agency from forcibly taking residential land in the 6,835-acre redevelopment project area being considered for the northeast San Fernando Valley. Opponents of the proposed redevelopment project area which would include the communities of Pacoima, Sylmar, Panorama City and Sun Valley are worried about losing their property through eminent domain. (The CRA’s power of eminent domain is a primary tool used to compel homeowners and businesses to sell their properties to make way for desired projects.) Leaders of an elected Project Area Committee, which was set up by the city to advise the CRA, said they support Padilla’s proposal. About 45,000 people live in the proposed project area. As many as 196 property owners might escape a forced sale if Padilla’s plan is approved. Padilla had previously quieted some of the opposition to creation of the CRA project area by supporting proposals to cut the size of the project area by nearly half, while keeping economically distressed sections of Pacoima, Sylmar, Panorama City and Sun Valley. Home Prices Up, Sales Down Prices of Valley homes soared in April, though sales volume dropped significantly. The median price of a single-family Valley home rose to $240,000 in April, up from $211,000 in the like month a year ago, according to the Southland Association of Realtors. The median is just $5,000 below the Valley high of $245,000 set in 1989. Nonetheless, there were just 1,100 San Fernando Valley houses sold in April, down from 1,208 in April 1999, a 9.1 percent decline. The association blamed the drop on rising interest rates and higher home prices. In Santa Clarita, the median price of a home rose to $240,000 in April, up from $225,000 in April 1999. But the number of homes sold there fell 27 percent, with just 192 homes sold in April 2000. The Conejo Valley similarly reported a drop in sales. Home prices there skyrocketed, increasing nearly $100,000 in the last year. The median price in April was $397,890, way up from $299,595 a year earlier, according to the Conejo Valley Association of Realtors. City Will Accommodate LAFCO Los Angeles city officials said they will provide data requested by the Local Agency Formation Commission for its study of the San Fernando Valley’s proposed secession. LAFCO has asked the city for payroll records, contracts, budgets and inventories on everything from helicopters to traffic lights. It has also requested names of every licensed taxi owner in L.A., a geographic breakdown of police vice cases, a map of city sewer lines and even a list of every place the city picked up horse manure last year. City officials have called the 25-page request too broad and said there may be some difficulty getting some of the detailed information LAFCO is requiring. LAFCO will use the data for its study on whether the Valley could break away from Los Angeles without financially harming residents in either area. If LAFCO finds a breakup would be revenue-neutral, a secession proposal would be put before city voters. LAFCO officials have said the extensive detail is necessary to determine the breakup effect on residents. Mayor Richard Riordan and City Council President John Ferraro have said they will cooperate with LAFCO. Candidates’ Report Card Valley VOTE, the San Fernando Valley pro-secession group, will rank L.A. mayoral candidates in terms of their attitude toward a Valley split, as a guide for Valley voters. VOTE leaders said they will put their own questionnaire before candidates and issue a report card on each candidate. The main question will concern whether candidates support a public vote on the proposed city breakup. While the mayor won’t have final say on whether the Valley breaks away, he or she could slow down the process, possibly impacting whether the proposal makes the November 2002 ballot. Housing Development OK’d The Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission unanimously approved the 2,545-unit Westcreek development in northern Santa Clarita. The proposal by Newhall Land & Farming Co. involves a 966-acre site along the west bank of San Francisquito Creek, the final phase of the developer’s North River communities. When completed, the development would include about 8,000 homes. The Board of Supervisors must still give final approval to the project. If approved, construction could begin late this year. The Planning Commission approval allows up to 27 units per acre, far denser than earlier standards of five-acre lots per home. Travel: The deadline for approving an agreement for a new Burbank Airport terminal expired last week, which could kill plans by the airport to build its proposed $300 million expansion. The city now has 60 days to decide whether to buy up to 81 acres of the 130-acre terminal site for a new terminal. The city had tentatively agreed to buy the land from Lockheed Martin last year, and the land has been held in trust pending a final agreement. If the city chooses not to buy the land, it will be sold to a third party, which would be barred from building a terminal on the property. The deal ran into trouble in March when FAA chief Jane Garvey said the airport couldn’t impose an overnight flight curfew without conducting a $4 million federal noise study. The nighttime ban was a key element of the city signing onto the expansion.