Secession Not Seen as Good for Business

The board of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce came out against Hollywood secession on Thursday, saying a breakup would pose a risk to business growth and could jeopardize redevelopment projects that are helping to turn the area around.

To support Hollywood secession, the board would have needed to see it as good for the business community, said Leron Gubler, president and chief executive of the chamber, which has more than 1,000 members.

“Perhaps one day, once the city was established, it would be, but there’s so much uncertainty,” Gubler said. “The revitalization of Hollywood is still fairly fragile. We want to sustain it. The timing isn’t right for this.”

Twenty-four of the chamber’s 36 board members were present for the vote, Gubler said. Of those, 23 voted to oppose secession and one abstained.

Hollywood secession leader Gene La Pietra dismissed the chamber’s announcement.

“This is a decision made by a few people sitting on the executive board that mostly don’t live in Hollywood and that [work for] major corporations and represent special interests,” said the millionaire nightclub owner. “They do not represent the small businesses that are looking for relief and that support us.”

A chamber member, La Pietra said he was disappointed that the entire membership didn’t get to vote and that he was never given a chance to present his case to the board. His organization, Hollywood VOTE, said Thursday that a breakaway Hollywood business group is being formed.

Gubler said the chamber didn’t seek out presentations from supporters or opponents.

“We have been following the issue very carefully, and we wanted to make an independent decision,” he said.

He said the chamber has not discussed whether to contribute money to the anti-secession campaign.

Secession measures for Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley are on the Nov. 5 ballot.

Before holding its vote, the chamber commissioned a study of the proposed new city from MuniFinancial, a large public finance consulting firm based in Temecula. That review stated that Hollywood would be viable as an independent city. But it questioned whether the city would have the financial resources to cut taxes and improve services, as secession leaders have promised.

It also said that secession could be risky for development projects already underway and that utility rates could go up if Los Angeles successfully challenged a decision that the Department of Water and Power must charge residents of a new city the same rates as it does Los Angeles residents.

The firm even suggested that the city might have trouble paying public safety costs for events such as the Academy Awards and the Hollywood Christmas Parade.

Gubler said a substantial number of the chamber’s board members live in Hollywood. He also said that the chamber polled its members several times, most recently in April, and found that roughly two-thirds of them oppose secession.

La Pietra said that he had never been polled.

The Greater Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and the Central City Assn., a downtown business group, both oppose secession. Meanwhile, the United Chambers of Commerce of the San Fernando Valley has come out in favor of Valley secession.

Also on Thursday, secession proponents and foes filed rebuttal arguments for the Nov. 5 ballot pamphlet. The opponents, led by Mayor James K. Hahn, labeled the breakup proposals “financially risky.” Supporters said the secession opponents were trying to “confuse and scare” voters. They said there would be no new taxes, and that water and power rates would be locked in.

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Times staff writer Patrick McGreevy contributed to this report.