Canyon Development Foes Take Stand--Alone

Opponents of a 26-home tract proposed for a wooded canyon in Studio City converged on the development site at dawn Monday, prepared to stand in front of bulldozers that they believed were en route to begin grading.

The bulldozers, however, did not show up. The stand-off-that-wasn’t provided only the latest quirk in a twisting land-use fight that has pitted a would-be luxury home builder against community activists, environmentalists and politicians.

The false alarm was a product of citizens’ fears that developer Fred Sahadi would ignore a city stop-work order to begin construction on a tract he plans to build in Fryman Canyon, in Studio City west of Laurel Canyon Boulevard.

“Once the work is started, it’s started,” said Judy Marx, one of eight environmental activists who came to protect the land Monday morning. “Our job is to stop that physically, to lie in front of bulldozers or to put ourselves in trees so that they would have to bodily harm us in order to do what they had to do.”

They were accompanied by representatives of City Councilman Mike Woo, state Assemblyman Terry Friedman (D-Los Angeles) and Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City).

Marx and other foes of the project said the canyon--which has a perennial stream and is home to dozens of old-growth oak trees and many species of plants and animals--is a critical link in the wildlife corridor.

They want the canyon preserved and have appealed to the city Cultural Heritage Commission to designate the site a cultural monument as a remnant of the natural environment of the Santa Monica Mountains in the city. The commission is scheduled to consider the matter Wednesday.

The city Department of Building and Safety two weeks ago issued a stop-work order prohibiting work on the site until the commission makes its decision.

In addition, Mayor Tom Bradley ordered that Sahadi be prohibited from starting any work until he completes all environmental studies required by the state Department of Fish and Game and the Army Corps of Engineers.

But opponents of the project, who banded together as the Urban Wilderness Coalition, said they feared that Sahadi would ignore the order and try to begin work before his grading permit, issued in 1988, expired.

The permit had been scheduled to expire at 5 p.m. today.

Sahadi has refused to comment on the matter.

Sahadi is known in thoroughbred racing circles as half-owner of the state’s largest horse breeding farm in Paso Robles and developer of a $13-million equine complex in Pomona. He acquired the canyon property two years ago.

If a developer has begun grading when a permit expires, the permit is automatically extended for six months, said Tim Taylor, director of the city’s Department of Building and Safety, which issues such permits.

But if no work has been done, the developer must apply for an extension and the department may turn down the request, Taylor said.

To ensure that no work began in the wooded ravine, foes of the project and government officials have monitored the 63-acre parcel daily, prepared to alert state Department of Fish and Game officials, who had promised to arrest anyone working at the site without state approval.

The department must approve construction projects that disturb a waterway--the canyon stream in this case.

Fear of illegal work was aroused late Sunday afternoon when canyon neighbors sighted one of Sahadi’s engineers talking to two surveyors. One of the residents said she overheard the engineer instruct the surveyors where to begin clearing brush and cutting trees, Marx said.

She notified Marx, founder of the Urban Wilderness Coalition, who alerted members of her group.

Marx said the group members will also be at the site this morning, the last morning before the permit is scheduled to expire.

Taylor said Sahadi has already applied for an extension of the permit, but that his request was denied. He can appeal the matter to the Board of Building and Safety Commissioners.