Land Deal Pros and Cons Debated : Development: Sides spar over a plan to merge the Jordan and Ahmanson ranch housing projects near Simi Valley.

It was billed as the debate of the year over the land deal of the century.

But many of the 75 people who attended the meeting in Thousand Oaks on Friday agreed it was just another sparring match between opponents and supporters of a proposal by developers to combine the massive Jordan and Ahmanson ranch housing projects at a single location near Simi Valley.

Ventura County Supervisor Maria VanderKolk said she organized the meeting to give people on different sides of the issue an opportunity to vent their concerns about the controversial, 2,600-house project. If the plan is approved by the Board of Supervisors in July, developers have promised they will convert more than 10,000 acres of private mountain property into public parkland.

Despite the potential parkland acquisition, members of the environmental group Save Open Space restated their opposition to the proposed development because of the increased traffic and smog it would generate. They said that alternative sites closer to the cities of Thousand Oaks or Simi Valley should be considered.

“What you are planning for Ahmanson is an environmental catastrophe,” said Siegfried Othmer, a member of the group. “We hope that Ventura and Los Angeles counties will come to their senses before approving this project on this site. Other sites should be considered.”

Dan Silver, another member of the Agoura Hills-based environmental group, suggested that Ventura County residents put a measure on the June ballot to create a special tax that would go toward purchasing the Ahmanson and Jordan ranches.

VanderKolk, who helped put the land deal together, said that, considering the state of the economy, voters probably would not support such a measure.

She also said that it was unrealistic to expect the developers to seek an alternative site. She cautioned that if the county doesn’t move quickly it could lose state and federal funds necessary to acquire the parkland.

Under the development proposal, 750 houses and a PGA golf course initially planned for the Jordan Ranch would instead be constructed on the Ahmanson Ranch in the rugged hills just west of the Los Angeles County line. The Ahmanson Land Co. would build another 1,850 houses and a town center with 400,000 square feet of offices and stores, as previously planned.

In return, entertainer Bob Hope, who had been planning to develop his Jordan Ranch with Potomac Investment Associates, has agreed to sell 7,363 acres of mountain property in Los Angeles and Ventura counties to park agencies for a below-market $29.5 million. Ahmanson Land Co. has agreed to give another 3,025 acres of its 5,477-acre ranch to the National Park Service.

Joseph Edmiston, executive director of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, said the opportunity to gain so much parkland for so little money must not be lost. The conservancy is the state agency that would actually purchase the parkland.

“Even if it’s the worst possible project, I’m here to say that the net benefits are so overwhelmingly positive . . . that one should say on balance, let’s move forward,” he said.

Thousand Oaks resident Norman Lueck agreed.

“I’m for the project,” he said. “The county’s population is expected to grow by another 300,000 by the year 2010. Where are we going to put these people?”

VanderKolk said she was not deterred by Save Open Space’s opposition to the housing project.

“I’m aware of SOS’s feelings,” VanderKolk said. “I expect them to be there with their swords raised throughout the entire process.”

She said she plans to hold another public meeting on the proposed development in the coming months.