Extends Trails : Entertainers Donate Land to the State

Mountain land donated by actor Warren Beatty and television personality Dick Clark will be used to extend a network of public hiking trails between the San Fernando Valley and the coast, officials of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy said Thursday.

Beatty donated 20 acres in Dixie Canyon south of Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, and Clark turned over 54 acres near Malibu Creek State Park south of Thousand Oaks, officials said.

The developer of a luxury subdivision in the hills above Sherman Oaks also made a donation of cash and land, officials said.

“It’s the end of the tax year and a lot of public agencies got gifts,” said Clark King, deputy director of the conservancy, a state agency that acquires mountain parkland.

Clark’s land, near Deer Creek Road in Ventura County, is part of the Malibu Creek State Park scenic vista area. King said Clark plans to build a “dream home” on an adjoining 13-acre parcel he retained.

3 Homes Outside Park

Beatty also kept about a dozen acres near the top of Dixie Canyon and plans to build three homes there, said John Diaz, a conservancy planner.

“He bought out a 48-home subdivision that was planned for the canyon,” Diaz said. “His three homes will be on the top, outside of the canyon where they won’t impact on the park.”

A ceremony renaming the canyon “Warren Beatty Park” will probably be held in late May, Diaz said.

Meanwhile, officials will build a hiking trail through the property to connect the area--which is within walking distance of Ventura Boulevard --to an eight-mile trail leading to the center of the Santa Monica Mountains, he said.

Land from the third donation will be used as a staging area for hikers using the new trail, Diaz said.

Elliot Gottfurcht, developer of Beverly Park Estates--an 80-home project on 322 acres south of Mulholland Drive--gave the conservancy a 15-acre parcel and $100,000 to meet a development requirement imposed by the City of Los Angeles, Diaz said.

Conservancy officials said no dollar value has been placed by their agency on the donations from Beatty and Clark.