Cranston Opposes Cheeseboro Land Swap : Parkland: The senator wants to block the use of federal funds in the exchange of 864 acres owned by Bob Hope for 59 acres needed for an access road to a private development.

U.S. Sen. Alan Cranston (D-Calif.) on Friday announced his opposition to a controversial land swap in Cheeseboro Canyon that would allow entertainer Bob Hope to begin commercial development of his Jordan Ranch in eastern Ventura County.

Cranston is the first California official to oppose the transfer with parkland in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

In a statement issued by his office, Cranston said he will urge a Senate Appropriations subcommittee to block the use of federal funds for the land swap. Federal money is needed for an environmental review of the land exchange, a Cranston aide said.

“The denial of federal funds would effectively block the deal,” Cranston said in his statement.

Under the land-swap proposal, the National Park Service would get 864 acres of Hope’s 2,308-acre Jordan Ranch. In return, it would give up 59 acres in nearby Cheeseboro Canyon so that developers could build an access road to a planned golf course and 750-house subdivision on the ranch.

If the proposal is approved, Hope would sell 5,700 acres in the Santa Susana and Santa Monica mountains to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy for $20 million, an amount that is considered lower than Hope could get from developers.

But Cranston said “instead of permitting the land exchange . . . the Park Service should be seeking to acquire” the Jordan Ranch property to protect it from development. He said he would seek an appropriation of $33 million to enable the Park Service to purchase more land in the Cheeseboro Canyon area.

Neither Hope nor developers interested in the property could be reached for comment Friday.

Cranston’s announcement was applauded by environmentalists, who said it will force other California officials to take a stand on the land-swap proposal. So far, Sen. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.) and Reps. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Los Angeles) and Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) have not taken a position on the issue.

“We’re thrilled,” said Siegfried Othmer, a member of the environmental group Save the Open Space. “It’s the breaking of the dam we’ve been waiting for.”

Elois Zeanah, another member of the group, agreed. “This is a significant step,” Zeanah said. “This is the first time a federal official has come forward and taken a stand. They’ve all been hiding behind an iron curtain of neutrality. This will open the curtain for others. People can’t hide anymore.”

Joseph T. Edmiston, executive director of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, who has supported the land swap, said he was surprised and disappointed by Cranston’s announcement.

“I’m somewhat shocked” that Cranston didn’t talk to conservancy officials before making his announcement, Edmiston said. “I think he’s been misinformed. I imagine that his position will change when he gets fully informed.”

Edmiston, who has been criticized for supporting the land deal, said the arrangement with Hope would free $10 million in conservancy funds that could be used to acquire thousands of acres of other environmentally sensitive property.

Edmiston said he was not certain what effect, if any, Cranston’s announcement would have in swaying other officials.

Cranston said he will ask the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on the interior to triple President Bush’s budget for buying land that should be protected.

“I am dismayed that the National Park Service is opening the door to commercial development of Jordan Ranch, which should one day be national parkland,” Cranston said. He accused the agency of “acting directly contrary to and subversive of its mission.”

Cranston called Cheeseboro “one of the jewels” of the national recreation area that received more than 500,000 visitors each year.

“Californians tell me that the development would degrade the national recreation area, adversely affect the flow of a creek that provides water for parklands and destroy the wildlife corridor through Cheeseboro Canyon,” he said.

The developer working with Hope, Potomac Investment Associates, based in Gaithersburg, Md., has proposed building a tournament golf course and a community of 750 luxury houses on the Jordan Ranch, a mixture of rocky peaks and grassy meadows.

But Potomac needs the 59 acres of national parkland to provide sufficient access to the ranch for a development that size. Both parcels in the land swap are within the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, a network of public parks and private land.