City Council Opposes Overlay of West Los Angeles Area Code

The Los Angeles City Council voted Friday to oppose a new telephone overlay area code for West Los Angeles, even though the state Public Utilities Commission decided a day earlier to indefinitely delay its implementation.

Councilman Mike Feuer urged the council to take a stand against 11-digit overlay plans anyway because, he said, the proposal for West Los Angeles will resurface some day and the state agency is considering a proposal to put new area codes in other parts of the city, including the San Fernando Valley.

“I have received communications from dozens and dozens of constituents who are very upset about the imposition of this,” said Feuer, whose district extends from West Los Angeles to Sherman Oaks.

“This requires much more scrutiny before I can be sold that it’s a good idea. I think it’s important to the city to continue to be on the record in opposition.”

Faced with public opposition, the state PUC decided Thursday to postpone indefinitely an overlay area code--424--for the region served by the 310 area code.

An overlay requires residents to dial 11 digits, even if they are calling within the same area code.

The council action asks that the PUC end the existing 11-digit dialing requirements in West Los Angeles, which began in April.

Additional area codes are being created at a fast rate to accommodate new forms of communications, including pagers, cellular phones, faxes and computers.

After receiving a petition of opposition from Assemblyman Wally Knox (D-Los Angeles), state regulators agreed to review the West Los Angeles proposal further instead of going ahead with the July 17 start date.

But a similar proposal is being considered for the San Fernando Valley by an administrative law judge for the Public Utilities Commission.

Telephone companies submitted proposals in February either to split the Valley between two area codes or overlay a new code on the existing 818 area code.

“The industry submitted plans and we are reviewing them,” said Kyle DeVine, spokeswoman for the PUC.

Judge Tom Pulcifer could issue a recommendation any day. That decision would then go to the PUC for final action, DeVine said.

Knox has introduced legislation to block the Valley area code switch and others until less disruptive alternatives can be studied. The bill was passed by the Assembly on May 27 and will be taken up by a Senate committee July 13, according to Amy Blumberg, a spokeswoman for Knox.

Feuer said he expects his Valley constituents to be as upset as those in West Los Angeles when the proposal is formally made.

“Any place this is to be imposed, it’s going to be very poorly received,” Feuer predicted. “This is one of those impulse issues. People deal with it every day when they are on the phone. People don’t understand the necessity for this and I agree with them.”

Knox praised Friday’s council action but noted that the battle isn’t over.

“It’s important for people to understand what we got [with the PUC delay] was just a third of the loaf,” he said.