L. A. Council OKs Plan to Aid Quake Victims in 2,400-Acre Area : Recovery: It is the fourth zone authorized in month. Similar proposal for northwest Valley comes under fire.

The Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to use redevelopment powers to aid quake victims in hard-hit neighborhoods of Canoga Park, Reseda and Winnetka, the fourth such recovery plan approved in the past month.

Under the plan, 2,400 acres in the west San Fernando Valley will be included in an emergency redevelopment area so that tax dollars can be siphoned away over a 45-year period to provide quake assistance funds.

The redevelopment area is expected to generate $10 million over five years, money that will be used for residential and commercial loans and funds to rebuild public structures such as libraries and bridges.

“I’ll be watching this effort like a hawk to make certain that the process remains driven by the community and that the programs meet the needs of our residents and businesses,” said Councilwoman Laura Chick, who represents the neighborhoods within the redevelopment area.

At the same meeting, a proposal for a similar but much larger redevelopment project in the northwest Valley continued to be harshly criticized by area residents as well as council members and redevelopment officials.

That proposed emergency redevelopment project would include 21,000 acres of residential and commercial neighborhoods in Northridge, Chatsworth, Granada Hills, Porter Ranch and North Hills, the hardest hit areas of the city.

The contentious hearing Tuesday was the second for the project, which would be the largest of six redevelopment efforts proposed for the Valley and Hollywood. A final vote is not expected until Tuesday.

The project, which was designed in large part by a committee of appointed residents from the area, is limited in scope, generating $25 million that would be used as loan-guarantee funds to make it easier for quake victims to get traditional bank loans.

Unlike four previously approved redevelopment projects, none of the money raised by the northwest Valley’s project would go toward repairing public structures.

Several critics complained that the project area was too vast, including nearly an entire council district, and that it would take a disproportionate share of tax dollars away from schools, and police and fire services.

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Councilman Hal Bernson, who represents the area proposed for the redevelopment project, said the project is large because his district suffered about 80% of the city’s quake damage.

“The reason the project is throughout the district is that the damage is so extensive there,” he said.

A report from the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency said all six proposed redevelopment programs are expected to divert a total of $417 million in property taxes over the next 45 years.

The redevelopment project for the northwest Valley would divert $245 million over the same period, according to the report. But the report said the money would be raised by diverting only 6.6% from the available tax stream, the smallest percentage of all six projects.

Although several council members were concerned about how much the plan would cost, some were confused by the slew of cost figures provided by opponents and supporters at the hearing.

“I’m questioning the numbers as provided by the CRA,” said Councilman Mike Hernandez, who has said he will vote against the project unless his concerns about the costs are addressed.

Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg agreed. “I’m very concerned with the numbers game,” she said. “I don’t feel comfortable with the dollars and cents.”

Bobbi Fiedler and Cynthia McClain-Hill, members of the CRA board who spoke against the project, said the plan was drafted with too many restrictions, some of which made the entire project illegal until city lawyers rewrote the plan last week.

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At the end of the hearing, a frustrated Bernson said he was willing to review the plan to make changes to address some of the criticisms.

But he added that he is willing to kill the entire project if he is unable to reach an agreement between his committee of appointed residents and critics on the council.

“It’s either going to be narrow and tailored for my council district . . . or I don’t want it,” he said.