Environmental Group Calls for Ouster of Edmiston Over Endorsement of Park Swap

Members of an environmental group are calling for the ouster of Joe Edmiston from his post as director of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy because he supports a controversial exchange of private property for national parkland in Agoura Hills.

Mary Weisbrock, director of Save Open Space, an Agoura-Thousand Oaks-based environmental group, called on Gov. George Deukemejian to fire Edmiston because he has “abused the power of his office and violated state legislation which established the conservancy.”

Edmiston supports a land swap proposal that would give developers the land they need to build a road to serve a housing development and golf course at the edge of the Cheeseboro Canyon unit of the Santa Monica National Mountains Recreation Area.

In her appeal to the governor, Weisbrock said Edmiston’s support for the proposal betrayed the spirit of the conservancy, which was established by the state to acquire parks and trails in the Santa Monicas and neighboring hills and mountains.

Edmiston, who has defended the swap as being in the best interest of the park, said he was angry that the group would seek his removal over his decision. He pointed out that the conservancy’s governing board voted 5 to 1 in 1988 to support the land exchange.

If an official can be ousted over a dispute like this, “then we are in for the rule of the timid, who will never step out and do anything for fear of offending the people who live next door,” he said.

Under the proposed deal, the conservancy would receive 864 acres of the 2,408-acre Jordan Ranch, which is owned by entertainer Bob Hope but optioned to Potomac Investment Associates for development, in exchange for giving the developer 59 acres in lower Cheesboro Canyon.

The developers would also sell the conservancy 230 acres of the scenic China Flat area of Jordan Ranch and another 76 acres for $2 million.

“We tried very hard to get China Flat from Mr. Hope from 1982 to 1985 and were utterly unsuccessful,” Edmiston said. “This is the only way, in our judgment . . . to get that environmentally essential land from Mr. Hope. . . . The issue is, are you able to get the best part of the property and make an exchange, given the fact that there’s not enough money to buy the whole damn thing.”

The call for Edmiston’s ouster illustrates the strong emotions generated by the proposed land swap, which has divided traditional allies. The conservancy typically works with conservation and homeowner groups, such as Save Open Spaces, to rescue scenic tracts from development.

According to some estimates, the ranch would cost $20 million to $30 million--a price the conservancy could never meet. But opponents of the exchange say that if Potomac is unable to get its road access or zoning approvals from Ventura County, the price could be considerably less and the tract could be purchased for the recreation area.