Developer May Cut Size of Project : Development: Ahmanson Land’s president says he is willing to consider scaling down plans for the 5,477-acre site.

After critics lashed his ranch project as too large and too damaging to the environment, the president of the Ahmanson Land Co. said Wednesday that there is a “good possibility” that he will cut the size of the proposed development.

About a dozen opponents criticized the Ahmanson Ranch project, which would include 3,000 houses and 238 acres of offices and stores, in the first public hearing on the development proposed for the rolling hills of southeastern Ventura County.

The testimony--a litany of anticipated problems ranging from traffic jams to the loss of steelhead trout in Malibu Creek--was offered to a committee of county officials who will decide whether the environmental report on the project satisfies state law.

During the 3 1/2-hour hearing, Donald Brackenbush, president of Ahmanson Land, said of his 5,477-acre proposal: “Numerous people think it’s too large, and that’s something we’re willing to discuss.”

After the hearing, he said he thinks that “there’s a good possibility” that he will reduce the size of the development before it makes it to the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors next year.

The supervisors’ final decision on the project, and on a proposal to build 750 houses on nearby Jordan Ranch, is not expected until the spring at the earliest. The two projects are being considered jointly because of their proximity.

The hearing on the Jordan environmental study is set for Wednesday. No decision will be made about either study until December.

The county general plan does not permit development for either the Ahmanson or the Jordan project, so the county would have to find that their benefits justify amending it.

The reports say the two projects would have “unavoidable, significant” impacts on air quality, traffic and the area’s rural environment.

Most speakers said the greatest impact of the Ahmanson project would be to create snarls at three intersections that would funnel traffic onto the Ventura Freeway. There would be virtual gridlock at the Valley Circle Boulevard, Crummer Canyon Road and Las Virgenes Road interchanges if the project is approved as proposed, they said. The interchanges are in Los Angeles County.

Brackenbush said that would happen even if his project is not built, based on projects already approved for the area.

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Joy Picus, in a prepared statement read by an aide, said the Ahmanson development would also funnel 70,000 vehicles a day onto Victory Boulevard, just across the county line from the ranch.

Representatives of a variety of Malibu-area organizations said the environmental study had not even considered the impact of the silt that will run off as 54 million cubic yards of dirt are graded during construction.

The residue will flow into storm drains and eventually dump into Malibu Creek, harming the state’s southernmost run of steelhead trout, they said.

However, the Ahmanson plan was not opposed by all.

About 3,000 acres would be dedicated to park agencies and that is “a major positive,” said David Brown, spokesman for the Las Virgenes Homeowners Federation, which represents 19 groups.