Panel OKs $14 Million for Santa Monica Mountains Area

The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area would receive $14 million--far less than requested but more than any other national park--under the 1992 interior appropriations bill approved Thursday by a congressional committee.

The measure, passed by the interior subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, also contains $250,000 for the William O. Douglas Outdoor Classroom, a 12-year-old program in Franklin Canyon above Sherman Oaks that introduces inner-city children to nature and the outdoors. The money would offset deep reductions in state and private funding.

Santa Monica advocates requested $30 million for the recreation area but realized that they were unlikely to get it in a tight budget year. The recreation area received $12 million last year; President Bush recommended $11.5 million in his proposed 1992 budget.

The $14 million is the amount sought to purchase property owned by the Japan-based Soka University that park officials have coveted for headquarters for the national recreation area. University officials, who are seeking permission from Los Angeles County to build a 4,400-student campus in the mountain meadow, have rejected proposals to move elsewhere.

The $14 million would go toward an offer to buy the land for an as-yet undisclosed sum. If rejected by the university, state or federal parks agencies could begin condemnation proceedings. The government agency would then have to pay the equivalent of appraised fair market value for the 580-acre property, situated along Mulholland Highway between Calabasas and Malibu.

Bernetta Reade, Soka University spokeswoman, said school officials have offered to compromise and donate 71 acres. Park officials have rejected that offer. Soka officials say they have spent at least $43 million on property in the area since 1986, including $12 million to refurbish buildings and grounds.

The spending bill does not include the $16 million that Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Los Angeles), the park’s leading congressional advocate, requested to purchase the oak-studded Paramount Ranch in Agoura. The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, a state agency, is seeking to obtain the ranch under a tentative agreement with Union Federal Savings Bank.

Beilenson acknowledged last month that Congress could wait until next year to appropriate money for the ranch--although this would add an additional $1 million in interest under the conservancy’s agreement with Union Federal.

Elsewhere in the Santa Monicas, the Douglas Outdoor Classroom each year exposes 75,000 children--many from low-income areas--to mountain hikes and contact with such animals as ducks, snakes and rabbits. The 3 1/2-acre site includes a nature center.

The program has been largely funded by the conservancy, grants and private contributions, but the state budget shortfall and recession have forced major cutbacks. Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City), whose district includes Franklin Canyon, was responsible for inserting the $250,000 in the interior bill.

“It is a step in the right direction,” center spokeswoman Joy Parker said Thursday. “State funds and grants are not as easy to get as they were.”

The appropriations bill now goes to the full Appropriations Committee and then to the House floor. The Senate will approve its own version of the measure, setting the stage for conferees from each chamber to reconcile the differences.