Bee Canyon, Briggs Road Sites on Agenda : Off-Road Park Stir Up Dust

Homeowners and off-road vehicle enthusiasts squared off on Tuesday for a long battle over where the county should establish off-road vehicle parks in the Santa Clarita Valley at a public hearing that attracted a noisy, standing-room-only crowd of about 200 people.

The hearing, at Valencia Public Library, was the first conducted by Los Angeles County’s Off-Highway Vehicle Committee.

The committee, aided by county Parks and Recreation Department planners, is charged with developing a long-range master plan of off-road vehicle parks throughout the county.

Its immediate goal is to study the feasibility of opening two parks as soon as possible--one on 300 acres in Bee Canyon, which runs parallel to the Antelope Valley Freeway near the communities of Acton and Canyon Country, and the other on 650 acres on Briggs Road near the Antelope Valley Freeway in Agua Dulce.

Dorothea Hoffman, the county planner in charge of site selection, said that since Indian Dunes Park in Valencia, a popular off-road vehicle park, closed in February, 1985, off-road enthusiasts have had nowhere to ride their vehicles legally. Many, she said, now ride in unauthorized areas, causing police, fire and noise problems.

Devoted to Two Sites

Tuesday’s hearing was scheduled specifically to discuss the Bee Canyon and Briggs Road sites.

Lynn Reyes of Canyon Country, the first of a procession of residents who spoke, predicted that putting off-road vehicle parks in her neighborhood would mean the end of livestock and horses in the area known for its sprawling ranches and tranquil equestrian trails.

“Livestock and these vehicles do not mix,” Reyes said.

Carol Bellemore of Agua Dulce presented the committee with a petition containing the signatures of 356 residents who, she said, “would like to keep their tranquility.”

Ronald Siegel said he has owned 320 acres of land next to the Briggs Road site for 20 years. He plans to put a cluster-type home development on the land, he said, and “will sue to protect my investment.”

Other homeowners voiced concerns about fire hazards from racing vehicles, traffic congestion from what they said would be huge crowds of spectators at racing events, destruction of the land, soil erosion, archeological resources that might be lost and destruction of wildlife, including such unusual species as the African frog and the stickleback fish.

Young Mother Voices Plea

Vicky Van Zee, a young mother from Sepulveda, attempted to dispel some homeowner fears.

“We don’t want to destroy your land,” she said. “We just need a site. We need somewhere to ride legally. I really don’t want to teach my 9-year-old daughter to do something illegal.”

Jerry Counts of the American Motorcycle Assn. warned homeowners that, if the land is not used for off-road parks, it eventually might be subdivided into housing lots.

William Jackson, a clean-cut youth from Burbank who stowed his motorcycle helmet under his chair as he stepped up to the microphone, urged the committee to proceed with plans to open the parks as soon as possible.

“Some of the best times of my life were spent at Indian Dunes with my family and friends,” he said. “Now, we have nowhere to go.”

“We need places to keep our kids out of trouble,” said Bobbie Welty, a Canyon Country resident who said she also owns horses.

Planning for Long Battle

After the meeting, representatives of both sides said they would plan their strategies for what appeared to be a long battle.

“We’ll take this to court if we have to,” said an angry Steve Shultz, a Canyon Country homeowner.

On the other hand, Counts said that the parks are so “desperately needed” that his association is willing to invest “several millions of dollars” to help the county develop the sites.

Jo Anne Darcy, Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich’s Santa Clarita Valley deputy, said county planners must wait for word from the state on a $297,000 planning grant application before they can proceed with further studies.