Wise Words on Park

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has received solid inside advice from Sen. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.). Do yourself a favor, the senator in effect told the supervisors: Show that you care about holding down development in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. If county government shows no concern about keeping land costs down in the park’s neighborhood, Wilson asks, then why should Congress pay attention when asked for money to buy land in the mountains?

Wilson didn’t specifically mention in his letter to the supervisors a developer’s request to build more homes on the Pleasure Faire site in Agoura than allowed under the county general plan. But he sent his letter on the same day in December on which the supervisors held a public hearing on Brian Heller’s request to build 159 homes where only 103 are now allowed. The message was clear.

Wilson did say that “any change in housing density in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area will lead to an increase in property values, making it very difficult for the National Park Service to acquire these priority lands.” He added that there is a perception among members of Congress that “Los Angeles County does not actively support setting aside open spaces for public use in the Santa Monicas”--a perception that already makes it difficult for the California delegation to get the money that the park needs.

The supervisors are scheduled to decide on the request in mid-January. On their action hinges more than simply whether 56 more homes are built. Congress has finally decided to spend$11 million this year to buy land for the park, and so, a decade after its establishment, there’s a sense of momentum again among the backers of the recreation area. The supervisors can present a unified local front to Congress if they hold the line against added development in this case.