City May Get Court Order to Access Land

The city attorney’s office may go to court to get access to a Mission Hills property to determine whether it is feasible as the site for a sixth police station in the San Fernando Valley, officials said Monday.

The City Council’s public safety committee recommended Monday that attorneys be given authority to seek a court order if a new owner of the property continues the policy of the previous owner to deny the city access to the site.

DaimlerChrysler purchased the property on Nov. 30 and hopes to develop a car dealership on the property, according to Bob Beehler, a spokesman for the company.

Beehler said the city has not yet contacted him for permission to enter the site but that he was prepared to review a request.

The previous owner denied the city permission needed for city representatives to do soils tests on the parcel to see if it is suitable for use as a police station, according to Bill Mercer, a city administrator.

The previous owner did not return phone calls for comment on Monday.

Mercer said the city is close to hiring an architect to begin designing the new police station, which will be partly funded with bond money approved by voters in 1989.