City, Developer Near Accord on New Plan for Fryman Canyon : Parkland: Mayor Bradley’s office is guardedly optimistic about long-sought purchase in which 10 acres of city property would be part of agreement.

Mayor Tom Bradley’s office expressed guarded optimism Tuesday that agreement is near on its new plan to save Fryman Canyon in Studio City from development by buying it for an estimated $10.2 million.

That figure includes the value of 10 acres of prime city real estate that would be given to the developer as part of the deal.

Directors of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, a state parks agency, Monday rejected one key provision of the plan to buy the 63-acre canyon but made a counteroffer to keep alive the often stormy negotiations with the developer.

The action was the latest development in the monthslong effort by city officials and environmental activists to block plans to build 26 luxury homes in the woodsy canyon.

Joseph T. Edmiston, conservancy executive director, said late Monday that the compensation package that a city-conservancy-private sector coalition is willing to pay for the canyon, located just west of Laurel Canyon and north of Mulholland Drive, “is no longer in dispute.”

The key sticking point is the timing of payments to developer Fred Sahadi, Edmiston and city officials said. Edmiston called this a major issue, but Deputy Mayor Mark Fabiani expressed confidence that it can be bridged. The mayor’s office is “guardedly optimistic,” Fabiani said.

The conservancy is willing to contribute $6.75 million toward the purchase price. The parks agency wants to defer payment of $2 million for six months after the conclusion of the deal, Edmiston and Fabiani said. Sahadi has been willing to accept a delayed payment of only $1.5 million, they said.

Whether the $500,000 difference will be a deal-breaker is unclear. Neither Sahadi nor his attorney, Neil Papiano, could be reached for comment.

The compensation package for Sahadi includes $8.95 million in cash and the transfer of title to Sahadi of four city-owned properties valued at $1.2 million, including a five-acre site in Woodland Hills, a four-acre site in Calabasas Highlands and two sites in Pacific Palisades. The city-owned property, all unused land belonging to the Department of Water and Power, is in the Santa Monica Mountains and suitable for development.

The DWP lands were the latest ingredient added to the negotiations and represented a major decision by the city to put more of its own money into the deal after acquisition talks had been stalled for weeks.

They may represent a concession by the developer, Fabiani said. “He’s gambling on a roll of the dice by taking these properties,” he said. “If he’s right and the real estate market rebounds and he doesn’t run into any zoning problems, they could be worth more. But if he isn’t . . . “

Fabiani said the developer apparently would seek to develop the four parcels. Fabiani said the city was not guaranteeing Sahadi that he would get the needed zoning or building permits.

“We’ve made no such representations to him whatsoever,” Fabiani said. He also said the $1.2-million value he put on the properties was based on a “full-blown analysis” by DWP, but he did not know if the land had been formally appraised.