A developer sees homes nestled in the canyon. Conservationists see only the canyon. : The Future of Las Pulgas: A Question of Vision

When Bob Locker looks across the rugged expanse of Las Pulgas Canyon, he sees a landscape filled with willow trees, wild springs, owls, hawks and rabbits.

When Neil Senturia looks across the rugged expanse of Las Pulgas Canyon, he sees a landscape filled with willow trees, wild springs, owls, hawks, rabbits and homes. Lots of homes.

Their views will shape the fate of a 26-acre section of one of the last undeveloped coastal canyons in the city of Los Angeles during the next year. Senturia, a West Los Angeles developer, wants to build homes on the Pacific Palisades site. Locker, a local conservationist, wants the canyon to be preserved in its natural state.

“There is so little open land left in the Palisades that it would be much better to leave the canyon alone,” Locker said. “At best, a development would benefit maybe 150 homeowners. But the canyon, if restored to its natural condition, could benefit the whole community.”

Locker is one of about 130 members of Save Las Pulgas Canyon Inc., a group formed shortly after news of the sale of the canyon leaked out earlier this year. Group members contend that the canyon, long plagued by landslides and the site of a major flood in 1979, is unfit for any large development.

Senturia, president of Senturia Investments Inc., which is buying the property for $1.6 million, said this week that he plans to build “substantially fewer” homes than the 180 he would be allowed to construct under current zoning regulations. He said he couldn’t give a specific number until he completed “business plans” for the property, adding that the geological hazards on the site could be overcome. He called the group’s stated goal of keeping the canyon undeveloped “harsh.”

“In a case like this, where you have competing interests, it’s hard to get everything you want,” Senturia said. “But I hope we can agree on something that would be good for the people in the area, the developer and the city.”

Given Las Pulgas Canyon’s prime location in one of the richest areas in the United States, the impending battle over the site seemed inevitable. The property borders Sunset Boulevard just north of Temescal Canyon Road and funnels out to the Pacific Coast Highway, offering a stunning ocean view.

While the natural beauty of the property has attracted hikers, picnickers and even a few film makers over the years, its natural hazards have repelled would-be developers, who had to contend with crumbling hillsides, mounds of unstable fill and a flood plain that caused a step dam to burst during heavy rains nine years ago.

The remains of the dam, covered by a steady stream, lie near the eastern edge of the property. The remains of a hillside that once held several homes loom over the western edge of the canyon. Landslides have destroyed four homes along the canyon’s crest, and one slide closed Pacific Coast Highway several years ago.

The site’s beauty and potential danger are the main reasons nearly 3,000 people have signed a petition stating that they are opposed to any development in Las Pulgas Canyon.

“Either he’s a genius or he’s doing something very dangerous,” said hillside resident Lloyd Ahern, who lives next to a site where two homes were destroyed by a landslide. “There’s just so many questions that need to be answered.”

Unpleasant Memories

The latest attempt to develop the property has rekindled some bad memories for nearby residents, who are still upset with the canyon’s treatment by its previous owner, a man named Francis Goplen. Goplen, who bought the property in 1958, used the site as a dump for the dirt he collected in his excavation business.

The dirt, which he carried in for about 15 years until the neighbors began protesting about the noise and pollution caused by the dumping, forms a roadway along one side of the canyon. Dump trucks and engineering equipment sit in a dusty, cement maintenance yard Goplen built next to his home in the canyon. Two rusted basketball hoops and a batting cage, which Goplen reportedly built for his grandchildren, show signs of years of inactivity.

Goplen could not be reached for comment.

Ron Wolf, president of Save Las Pulgas Canyon, estimated that it would take up to 2 million cubic yards of dirt to fill up the canyon, stabilize the hillsides and make the area safe for development. That would require more than 80,000 truck trips, Wolf said, and take about 10 years to fill. And since the main entrance to the canyon is located on the Pacific Coast Highway, he said it would affect the traffic-choked thoroughfare and neighborhoods throughout the community.

‘Loud, Crowded Place’

“But the bottom line is that it would irrevocably destroy the canyon,” he said. “It just doesn’t appear to be the best spot to develop. Little by little, what was a village nestled in the mountains is becoming a loud, crowded place nestled among houses. If Las Pulgas is developed, it will just be another case where Los Angeles squandered its natural resources.”

The city is repairing another landslide-plagued canyon in Pacific Palisades, a job that foes of Senturia’s plans say is similar to the one that would be required in Las Pulgas Canyon if it’s developed.

The controversial Potrero Canyon project, estimated to cost $7 million, involves filling a canyon with 1 million cubic yards of dirt, 75 feet high in some places. In addition, city engineers will install a storm drain to carry rainwater to Will Rogers State Beach.

Cindy Miscikowski, chief deputy for Councilman Marvin Braude, said that an environmental report and engineering studies would be required to determine if Las Pulgas Canyon can be developed. The city Planning Department would have to approve any development, but she said it was premature to discuss a project in the canyon, since no building plans have been filed.

However, Senturia said he has already hired an engineering firm and plans to meet often with the conservation group to try to reach a compromise. It’s a message that he also carries to viewers who see a real estate show he produces for cable television: growth is inevitable and not necessarily bad.

“I’m trying to be responsive to their needs,” Senturia said, adding that he sought out concerned residents in the area to discuss his building plans after bidding on the property. “But you have to be careful that the desires of a few do not inflame and lead the majority.

“I’m not going around telling people that I’m going to build this many houses and bring in millions of cubic yards of fill, because I’m not sure what I’m going to do yet. But I’m definitely going to do certain things.”

Wolf said the canyon group will spend the next few months collecting historic and geologic data on the site. He said he hoped to persuade Senturia to develop another property and to leave Las Pulgas Canyon untouched. In addition, he said the group would seek to have the canyon purchased by a parkland acquisition agency like the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.

“The feeling is pretty universal around here that the property should be cleaned up and returned to its natural condition,” he said. “There’s no doubt that if you put in enough time and enough money, you could probably overcome all of the hazards and develop the area. But the cost to the city and rest of the community would be tremendous.”