Neighbors Seek Ban on Building at Pierce College

Woodland Hills residents have urged that a moratorium be put on construction at Pierce College to prevent development of the West San Fernando Valley’s last farmland.

Homeowners said Thursday night that proposals for an equestrian center, a science museum and a permanent Valley Fair site threaten to gobble up the remaining 200 acres of agricultural open space near the intersection of Victory Boulevard and De Soto Avenue.

They asked college President David Wolf to shelve the proposals until the cumulative effect of development on the 40-year-old campus can be determined.

“Put these on hold for two years so we can evaluate them,” homeowner Herbert Katzen said. “People of Woodland Hills will suffer if decisions are made that eat up our remaining open space.”

Farmland as a Public Trust

Gordon Murley, president of the 500-family Woodland Hills Homeowners Organization, said West Valley residents view the college farmland as a public trust that must be protected from encroaching high-rise development in neighboring Warner Center.

“It doesn’t make sense to cover over this open space,” he told Wolf. Murley complained that developers approach college officials with their schemes because they feel “it’s easier to get things at Pierce.”

The criticism came as Wolf attended a homeowners meeting to accept a $1,213 check from residents who staged a recycling project last Saturday. Homeowners began their independent curb-side pickup program last month as a continuing fund-raiser for the Foundation for Pierce College. The money will be used for landscaping at the campus.

In the past, Wolf has reported rejecting proposals by developers who wanted to buy the farmland for offices, stores, high-density housing and even underground parking lots.

“We definitely want to preserve the open spaces that the agriculture program represents,” Wolf told a crowd of about 50 homeowners meeting at the Pacific Boys Lodge.

“I stand by statements I’ve made in the past. The open spaces at the college will be preserved,” he said.

Most Recent Shrinkage

Wolf conceded, however, that there are a variety of proposals that might use bits and pieces of campus land that has not already been sold or leased to private developers.

The most recent shrinkage of the campus occurred a year ago when a home builder purchased 3.3 acres on the southern edge of the school for $1.15 million to build a dozen luxury homes.

College officials have also approved use of a campus parking lot next to the school’s dairy barn for a weekly weekend swap meet that began operation last Saturday.

Pending development plans include two proposals for an equestrian center of up to 90 acres that would put permanent buildings and stables where corn is grown now. Other plans include a six-acre science museum on one corner of the campus pasture and a single-building Valley Fair headquarters on another.

Other possible projects include development of a light-rail system passenger station on college land near the intersection of Victory Boulevard and Winnetka Avenue that “certainly would be a terrific convenience to Pierce College students,” Wolf said.

Wolf told homeowners he hopes to rule on the equestrian center concept this spring. Negotiations for the fair headquarters--and for a temporary 30-acre site for the 1989 fair--have already begun with fair organizers, he said.

The light-rail station will depend on long-range construction plans for a controversial cross-Valley commuter line, Wolf said.

The science museum, proposed by Woodland Hills attorney Nick Brestoff, is probably years away, Wolf said. Its preliminary concept calls for a three-building complex that would include exhibits, a lecture hall and a teacher-training institute.

“It’s a trade-off, to be sure,” Wolf told glum-faced residents. “It could provide a unique educational and cultural experience” to an area that has a rich science base but a thin cultural foundation, he said.

Residents applauded Katzen’s call for a moratorium.

“I think this community has pretty much spoken as to the way it feels about Pierce College,” Robert Gross, homeowner group vice president, told Wolf. “We want to help you make a good decision.”