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Councilman Hal Bernson said Monday he is withdrawing a plan that would have provided at least $25 million in earthquake repair funds to property owners in the northwest San Fernando Valley, saying that Community Redevelopment Agency officials refused to accept a limited role in the rebuilding.
Bernson's decision means that the neighborhood that lent its name to the Jan. 17 earthquake may wind up one of the few quake-damaged communities that will not receive redevelopment help. He had initially proposed a redevelopment project for the Valley's worst-hit neighborhoods in a 21,000-acre swath of Northridge, Chatsworth, Granada Hills, Porter Ranch and North Hills.
The City Council has approved five other redevelopment project areas in the Valley and in Hollywood.
But in contrast to the other plans, Bernson's proposal severely limited the power of the Community Redevelopment...