Lands Bill May Deter Bid for Soka Site

The state Senate on Thursday approved legislation that critics say could hamper efforts by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy to obtain meadowland in Calabasas from Soka University. The measure by Sen. Nicholas C. Petris (D-Oakland) cleared the Senate by a 25-0 margin and was sent to the Assembly.

At issue in the legislation is how to determine the value of land owned by such nonprofit groups as churches and schools when public agencies want to condemn the property for their own use.

The bill, sponsored by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, would allow some nonprofit groups to increase the value of their land to include the cost of rebuilding in the same area. Currently, government appraisals reflect only the value of the land and the depreciated value of the buildings.

Joseph T. Edmiston, executive director of the conservancy, has estimated that the measure would add $10 million to the price of the 248 acres that park agencies want to buy. If the bill is approved by the Assembly and signed into law by Gov. Pete Wilson, it will take effect Jan. 1. But in a letter delivered to Edmiston on Thursday, Petris offered to delay the effective date of the measure for areas of the Santa Monica Mountains that the conservancy wants to purchase.

Sen. Herschel Rosenthal (D-Los Angeles), who suggested the revision, said he thought the delay should last for about a year to give the agencies “a little more time to work out an arrangement for Soka.” Petris did not indicate how long a delay he would seek, and said he was “not overly thrilled with the prospect” of aiding the conservancy. He said the agency should have condemned the Soka property in 1986, when the Japanese school bought the acreage at an inflated price.

In the letter, Petris also criticized Edmiston for suggesting that Soka University was involved in the drafting of the bill.

Soka officials have said the only connection they have with the bill is that Hodge Dolle, the attorney who represents the Seventh-day Adventists, also is advising them on condemnation issues. In a response to Petris, Edmiston said Dolle owes Petris and the church “an apology for not telling you which of his other clients would benefit from the bill.”

Times Staff Writer Amy Pyle contributed to this story in Los Angeles.