Countywide : House Panel Will Study Land Swaps

Two proposed and disputed land swaps within the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area will be the focus of a May 1 congressional subcommittee hearing in Washington.

The House Committee on Government Operations’ subcommittee on the environment, energy and natural resources will review potential exchanges involving federally owned land in Cheeseboro Canyon and Elsmere Canyon, a senior committee staffer said.

The purpose of the hearing, which is expected to be the first in a series, will be to assess whether proper procedures exist within the departments of the Interior and Agriculture to properly consider proposed intrastate land swaps nationwide.

“We’re trying to look at the standards that are used to make intrastate exchanges,” said the aide, who spoke on condition that he not be named.

He noted that the General Accounting Office, Congress’ research arm, “has consistently pointed out that there is a deficiency in the kind of written procedure and practice” on previous land-swap deals. However, he added, the selection of the proposed Los Angeles-area land swaps does not mean that the subcommittee has found problems with them.