Local News in Brief : Planners Give Developer of Topanga Resort Extra Time

A developer hoping to build a $100-million golf resort in Topanga Canyon has been granted extra time to supply Los Angeles County planning commissioners with environmental information on construction alternatives for his 257-acre site.

The Regional Planning Commission set a Feb. 19 deadline for subdivider Christopher R. Wojciechowski to submit the information, which had been sought by this week.

The delay will require officials to postpone a March 3 public hearing on Wojciechowski’s Montevideo Country Club project. The new hearing date will be March 27, commissioners said Wednesday.

County planning staff said more information is being sought about sewage disposal plans for the project, which would include residences, a 106-room hotel and retail stores along with a golf course. The project site is west of Topanga Canyon Boulevard, south of the Santa Monica Mountains’ crest, which separates Topanga Canyon from Woodland Hills.

The resort plan has divided the rural Topanga Canyon community, pitting residents living at the top of the canyon, near Wojciechowski’s project site, against those at the bottom of the canyon.

Those at the top have supported the project as a sound development that will cause minimal environmental damage. Homeowners below claim it will destroy the mountain ambiance and create flooding problems.

Opposition leader Marty Corbett said development foes have prepared a professional-quality, 10-minute video documentary that outlines their fears. It will be screened March 27 for planning commissioners, she said.