Panel OKs Fryman Canyon Plan : Development: The vote by the Parks Commission is the first official City Hall action to implement a deal to buy the land from developer Fred Sahadi.

Los Angeles city parks commissioners Monday voted 5 to 0 to recommend spending $1.2 million to help purchase 63-acre Fryman Canyon after Councilman Michael Woo called the price tag “an excellent bargain” for parkland “so close to the heart of the city.”

The vote was the first official action at City Hall to implement a deal negotiated by Woo and Mayor Tom Bradley to buy the canyon for $10.9 million from developer Fred Sahadi, who otherwise plans to build 26 luxury residences on the woodsy, steep-sloped property in Studio City, the center of a spirited tug of war between the developer and environmentalists.

The expenditure endorsed by the members of the Recreation and Parks Commission, all Bradley appointees, is also subject to review by the Los Angeles City Council.

The next major test of the Bradley-Woo plan will come at a meeting Monday of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, the state agency that is the other major partner in the deal to buy Fryman Canyon.

The Bradley-Woo deal envisions the conservancy contributing $8.7 million toward the purchase price of Fryman Canyon, the city, $1.96 million and private contributors, $240,000.

Although the state parks agency two months ago voted to kick in up to $8.7 million, it agreed to do so only if state appraisers valued the property at $10.7 million--which they have not done.

So far, the maximum state valuation of the property has been $8.7 million, and conservancy chief Joseph T. Edmiston has said he has doubts about the legality and propriety of the city and the parks agency paying anything in excess of a government-appraised amount.

Despite such reservations, the conservancy is set to debate a proposal at its next meeting to spend $8.7 million on Fryman “without further appraisal.”

In addition to approving the $1.2 million, the City Council also must rescind a plan to spend $719,000 on a park project in Temescal Canyon in the Pacific Palisades, switching the funds to the Fryman purchase to complete its contribution of $1.96 million.

Councilman Marvin Braude, who represents the Palisades, has agreed to this plan, Woo said.

Monday’s vote requires at least temporarily stripping the city’s Runyon Canyon Acquisition Trust Fund of all its money and putting on hold for an indefinite period construction of a ranger interpretive center and amphitheater for nature classes for children at Runyon Canyon Park in Hollywood.

Woo said there were “no absolute guarantees” that the trust account would be replenished--a point that Commissioner Richard Riordan, an attorney, said was troubling to him.

The Runyon Canyon fund was set up by the city and the conservancy to make land buys and capital improvements at the 133-acre park. The money may be used for non-Runyon Canyon purposes with the approval of the commission, the council and the Conservancy.

Riordan said he was concerned about the “policy” decision to spend scarce parks dollars on an unimproved park in a well-to-do area of Studio City.

The decision may deprive inner city residents of park services, complained Riordan, who also said he was bothered that children might be the losers if the Runyon Canyon improvements are delayed.

But Woo argued that Fryman Canyon is actually centrally located enough to be accessible to inner city parks users, and he pledged to work diligently to get the Runyon Canyon funds replaced.

Commissioners Dean Pregerson and J. Stanley Sanders also made the commission’s support of the plan conditional upon the conservancy agreeing to operate the Fryman Canyon park in accordance with city recreational policies.

Under the Bradley-Woo plan, the conservancy would actually own the land.