Decision on Corbin Water Tank Delayed

Los Angeles Water and Power Commissioners Thursday delayed approval of the latest plan for a giant water tank in the mountains above Tarzana and Woodland Hills, saying they want to review the need for the 4-million-gallon water storage project.

The delay was at least a temporary victory for environmentalists who have fought the Corbin Tank, and a setback for developers and Department of Water and Power officials, who were seeking board approval to resume construction of the stalled project.

Purpose Questioned

The board put off a vote on a revised tank plan after its president, Jack W. Leeney, said the reasons for building the tank--which was planned before he joined the board--”aren’t abundantly clear to me.”

The board then scheduled a March 15 briefing at which department engineers will defend the design and the size of the project, which is just south of Mulholland Drive near the southern end of Vanalden and Corbin avenues. Leeney said fire officials, environmentalists and developers also will participate in the briefing.

Sue Nelson, an opponent of the project, praised the board after the meeting, saying, “It was historic that they were willing to sit down.”

Alice Selzer, a Woodland Hills resident who also spoke against the project, said the tank’s opponents “got more than I expected.”

5-Year-Old Plan

The Corbin Tank, proposed more than five years ago, would supply water and increase fire protection for existing and planned new homes on the northern, San Fernando Valley side of Mulholland. The tank would be 30 feet wide and 156 feet in diameter. The project’s estimated cost is $4.5 million, of which $1.6 million has already been spent.

During the early 1980s, environmentalists and hikers complained that the project would spoil views from the pristine canyons and hills of Topanga State Park immediately to the south. Opponents also said the tank was bigger than needed to serve existing and approved development north of Mulholland. They said it would promote development in the rugged mountain country south of the road.

These contentions were dismissed as the Water and Power commissioners, the City Council and city planners granted needed approvals. The project also overcame an environmental lawsuit.

But, after excavation started in January, 1984, DWP geologists found evidence that a landslide had occurred at the site 3,000 to 6,000 years ago. They stopped work, leaving a gaping hole at the site overlooking a steep canyon. After further study, department officials decided the tank could be safely located about 90 feet south of the original site.

The board was scheduled to vote Thursday on whether the 90-foot change in the position of the tank required another lengthy round of environmental reviews. A no vote would have paved the way for resumption of work.

Reluctance Noted

When opponents Thursday not only questioned whether the new site is safe, but also raised the old objections, Leeney told them that “the only issue before us” is whether relocation of the tank justifies exhaustive environmental studies. He said he is reluctant to agree to new studies because “there are groups” that would use such studies as a basis for new lawsuits that might further delay the project.

But Leeney, who became a commissioner four years ago, later acknowledged that some of the reasons for the project are unclear to him and other relatively new members of the board.

The decision to put off the vote and schedule the briefing was greeted with dismay by representatives of two development firms that have planned housing projects just north of Mulholland. Ralph Herman, president of Southridge Developments Inc., which has tentative approval to build 154 housing units that would be served by the tank, said the real purpose of the tank’s opponents is to stop housing projects and buy the land for parkland “for one-tenth of the value. That is what this whole thing’s about.”

Legal Obligation

Leeney said the department is legally required to provide the developers with water. “That is not what’s at issue, and, if the only way to provide you with water is this tank, this tank will be built,” he told the builders.

But Herman and a Southridge engineering consultant said after the meeting that the tank delay is setting back work on their housing project. Herman and the engineer, Gil Bechtol, said they have been unable to seek a grading permit from the city because the they do not have a written assurance of water service.

Bechtol said he requested such a “will serve” letter several months ago, but was told by DWP officials that they wanted to resolve the Corbin Tank problem before issuing a letter.