Fair Board Votes to Seek Sepulveda Basin Site

Acknowledging that it will not be an easy task, members of the San Fernando Valley Fair board voted unanimously Wednesday night to seek to lease land in the Sepulveda Basin for a permanent fair site.

The board would like to build its fairgrounds on a 55-acre strip of land located at Victory Boulevard and Woodley Avenue, which is occupied by the California Air National Guard.

The basin site, which is owned by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, is one of three locations recommended in a report issued last month by a consultant charged with finding the fair a new home. Los Angeles Pierce College campus in Woodland Hills and an area around the Tujunga Wash near Hansen Dam in Sun Valley also were suggested. At its meeting Wednesday, the board indicated a desire to hold the fair’s equestrian events at Pierce.

The fair will be evicted from its current home at California State University, Northridge after next summer. CSUN plans to develop the land.

Low Rent, Close to Freeways

Board members concluded that the basin site was the most desirable because nearby freeways make it the most accessible and the rent would be unbeatable. The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers typically leases its land for as little as $1 a year.

But Lawrence E. Hawthorne, a corps spokesman, said it could take federal agencies “as long as six years” to decide whether to allow the fair to move onto the property. He added, “we’ve generally had to turn down” groups that have proposed large construction projects for the basin and other flood-control reservoirs in Southern California.

Undismayed, board members say they will enlist the support of the Valley’s local, state and congressional delegations to apply pressure to federal agencies.

Board member Sal Buccieri said he believed it would “take two to three years at the most” to get a lease agreement. “We feel confident when we get the support of legislators they will help us on the higher levels of government,” he said.

But besides getting government approval, the fair board also may have to contend with neighborhood groups that have in the past protested construction in the basin. The fair board wants to construct at least one building on the site.

A ‘Prettier’ Tenant

Board members say a fair would be preferable to the current military tenant, which has Quonset huts, oil drums and camouflaged vehicles on the site.

“Our site might look a little prettier than the equipment and jeeps of the National Guard,” said Dallas Boardman, the fair board’s president.

A spokesman for the California National Guard was not thrilled when informed by a reporter of the board’s decision.

“Are we happy there? Yes,” said Maj. Steve Mensik. “Do we have any plans to relocate? None at the moment. We are quite pleased with the community we’re in and the location.”

Fifteen people work at the Guard’s communication unit, which maintains satellite equipment that would be utilized in case of war and occasionally assists the U. S. Forest Service and local fire departments with communications.

It also expects to help out if a major earthquake hits Southern California.

The basin site, board members say, would alleviate the fair’s biggest problem: lack of money. The fair has $3 million in the bank, but another $10 million has been pledged by the state Legislature if the board can provide $20 million in matching funds. Board Treasurer Bert Potter said that obtaining the use of the basin property would represent the board’s matching funds.

The board has not ruled out remaining at its present site. Potter said the board will ask CSUN officials if the fair can be incorporated into university development plans.

“It’s a long shot, but we’ve been here so long they may let us stay,” Potter said.