Cranston, Wilson Split Over Hope Land Trade : Parks: The lawmakers’ positions mirror the division that the proposal for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area has caused among environmentalists.

Sen. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.) expressed tentative support on Tuesday for a proposed swap of federal land in Ventura County for property owned by entertainer Bob Hope at the same time that Sen. Alan Cranston (D-Calif.) was asking a key Senate subcommittee to block the controversial exchange.

Cranston had previously announced his opposition but Wilson, the Republican gubernatorial nominee, had not taken a position. Through an aide, Wilson said he was “generally supportive” of the exchange, which “appears to be a good deal.”

Proponents of the swap also gained another congressional backer Tuesday. In an interview, Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City) called the proposal “a once-in-a-lifetime chance to pick up important acreage” in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

The lawmakers’ divergent positions mirror the split that the proposal has precipitated among environmental activists. Congressional appropriation subcommittees have also been deluged with calls and letters on both sides of the issue.

The plan calls for the National Park Service to exchange 59 acres in Cheeseboro Canyon in Ventura County for about 1,100 acres owned by Hope on the adjacent Jordan Ranch. Potomac Investment Associates, which has an option on Hope’s Jordan Ranch property, is seeking to build 750 homes and a tournament-quality golf course on the remainder of the 2,308-acre ranch.

The developers want to obtain the Cheeseboro property for an access road to the homes and golf course. In addition, Hope has agreed to sell another 4,600 acres in the Santa Monica and Santa Susana mountains to parks agencies for a below-market $20 million if the Park Service approves the land exchange.

On Tuesday, Cranston requested $33 million in the fiscal 1991 budget from the interior subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee to buy park land in the Santa Monica Mountains but asked the panel to prohibit the Park Service from using any of the money to implement the swap. Park Service funds are needed to pay for an environmental review of the exchange.

“Californians tell me that the Jordan Ranch development will 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,” Cranston testified. He called the canyon “one of the jewels of the national park.”

Instead of engaging in an exchange that would promote commercial development, Cranston said the Park Service should pursue its longstanding plans to buy Jordan Ranch.

After testifying, Cranston said he hoped to get “at least half” his $33-million request. Congressional aides say that $11.5 million--requested by President Bush for Santa Monica Mountains acquisition next year--is a more realistic figure.

Citing such budget constraints, Berman maintained, “We are not going to get the money to acquire these properties or to pay fair market value in condemnation proceedings.”

Therefore, he said, the proposed exchange “has the potential to be the best gain for protecting the Santa Monica Mountains that I’ve seen since coming into office. . . . I have never liked giving back any land we’ve acquired but, on balance, I can’t imagine a more positive proposal.”

Wilson asked the interior subcommittee for $30 million for the Santa Monicas. He did not mention the land swap at the hearing but was subsequently asked about it by a reporter.

“He seems to think it’s a reasonable solution,” said Lynda Schuler, Wilson’s press secretary. She said he has not yet “dug into the specifics of it” but that he expects to do so in the near future.