Simi Assailed Over Bid for Early OK on Annexation : Jordan Ranch: An environmental group says residents’ concerns will go unheard if a county agency quickly reviews the proposal to absorb 5,800 acres.

An environmental group on Friday accused the city of Simi Valley of attempting to “short-circuit the democratic process” by asking a five-member Ventura County planning commission for an early ruling on whether annexation of Jordan Ranch is feasible.

Members of Save Open Space said they are fearful that concerns of residents will go unheard if the Local Agency Formation Commission, the agency that rules on annexations, quickly reviews the proposal and gives Simi Valley direction before it begins the annexation process.

“The people’s voice is being silenced, and the public is being denied its right to have a say in this process,” group member Virginia M. Pollack said at a press conference outside the Thousand Oaks Library. “We must stop this blatant attempt to manipulate and bypass the public’s right to the democratic process.”

Simi Valley is considering a proposal to annex 5,800 acres of the adjacent Jordan Ranch area, which would involve amending the city’s General Plan to include the property owned by entertainer Bob Hope.

But officials for Simi Valley and LAFCO said Friday that the public will be given ample time to express its views on the issue, which is expected to take more than two years to resolve. “It’s not a short-circuit of any process,” Simi Valley Mayor Greg Stratton said. “If anything, the process will be somewhat lengthened.”

Stratton said Simi Valley has asked LAFCO to make a preliminary determination on whether the annexation attempt is feasible, thus saving the city from the expensive and complicated process of amending its General Plan only to have the county commission deny the annexation request.

According to Robert L. Braitman, executive director of LAFCO, the proposal is expected to be discussed at the commission’s Sept. 5 meeting.

If LAFCO gives the city the go-ahead, Simi Valley will begin the process of including the Hope property in its General Plan. An environmental impact report on the project will also be amended to address the annexation.

After the process is completed, the issue will be taken back to LAFCO for final approval. City officials can stop the process at any time if the council decides it does not want to go forward with the annexation.

While city officials have declined to disclose whether they will eventually support or oppose annexation of the land, they have expressed openness to considering the proposal as an option to the threatened conversion of a portion of the property into a large garbage dump.

Nevertheless, the annexation proposal has caused considerable controversy since it was first brought up more than a week ago.

Hope officials said the Simi Valley annexation proposal was prompted partly by the election in June to the Board of Supervisors of slow-growth advocate Maria K. VanderKolk. VanderKolk’s campaign centered on her opposition to the Jordan Ranch development and a controversial land swap proposal involving federal parkland, which would be necessary for the project to go forward.

The 25-year-old political novice’s victory placed the majority of the board in opposition to the project, which supervisors expect to vote on after VanderKolk takes office in January.

Members of Save Open Space--which helped VanderKolk wage her successful grass-roots battle against incumbent Supervisor Madge L. Schaefer--said they will fight the annexation with the same zeal that they displayed during the county supervisor race.

“The attempt to wrest control over what happens to Jordan Ranch . . . from the Ventura County Board of Supervisors and voters of the 2nd District is an anti-American attempt by developers and public officials who are bowing to Bob Hope to bypass the public,” said Elois Zeanah, a member of the environmental group. “The public doesn’t have a chance in the proposed anti-democratic circus arena.”

But Stratton disagreed.

“We wouldn’t cram a development down anyone’s throat if there’s an adverse impact,” he said.