Conservancy Votes Tonight on Soka Land Acquisition

In the 14 years that it has been buying and preserving park property, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy has never resorted to condemnation, even when it meant that coveted parcels got away.

That record may change after tonight, when the conservancy’s seven-member board votes on whether it should attempt to use the power of eminent domain to buy 244 acres of land near Calabasas from Soka University.

The Tokyo-based school has refused to sell the land at Las Virgenes Road and Mulholland Highway, saying it plans to build a high school and four-year college for up to 3,400 students at the site.

The conservancy dearly wants to buy the land and historic buildings for use as a headquarters for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

Although the conservancy board has not yet taken a public stand on the question, board chairman Jerry Daniel thinks it will vote to condemn the property tonight based on discussions in closed sessions.

“There’s always a chance that it won’t go,” he said. “But I don’t think we’re going to see a university there any time soon.”

Soka attorney Hodge Dolle agreed that the board is “probably set in concrete on going ahead with this,” but predicted the effort ultimately will fail in court. Dolle said the conservancy has not used eminent domain to acquire property in the past “because they simply don’t have the power.”

In the school’s view, only the state Board of Public Works, whose members are appointed by the governor, has condemnation power in this case. That agency has the final say on most condemnation actions by state agencies, including the state Department of Transportation.

Dolle said if the conservancy moves to condemn the land, Soka would go to court to block the action.

Urging the conservancy toward a first test of its condemnation power is its staff, headed by Executive Director Joseph T. Edmiston. He said the unique location and flat terrain of the land, not Soka’s particular plans, are the reasons such a drastic step is warranted.

“The issue for us is not the merit of any development proposals,” Edmiston said, referring to Soka’s plans, which are contained in a permit application filed earlier this year with Los Angeles County.

But the seriousness with which Soka, which now operates a language school for 175 students at the site, is pursuing expansion “makes us think that . . . we have to move now,” Edmiston said.

In addition, beginning Jan. 1, a state law regarding condemnation could add up to $10 million to the condemnation cost of the Soka property.

Edmiston said the actual condemnation would be pursued by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, the conservancy’s decision-making arm. The other members of the authority--the Simi and Conejo recreation and park districts--already have approved condemnation.

As a prelude to condemnation, the authority recently offered Soka $18.7 million for the site based on a conservancy-ordered appraisal. The authority gave the school until Nov. 8 to respond and received no response by then, Edmiston said. For years, the school has made it clear that it was not interested in selling the land at any price.

Because the authority was formed as a joint powers agreement between the conservancy and the two Ventura County recreation and park districts, it was placed under the supervision of the Ventura County Board of Supervisors for condemnation actions. If the conservancy agrees with the other two districts, the condemnation action still must be approved by the Ventura supervisors.

Daniel, conservancy board chairman, predicted that the Ventura supervisors would affirm the action, saying, “We don’t expect that to be a problem. But we could be surprised there too.”

At a public hearing before the conservancy board regarding the proposed condemnation a week ago, most speakers urged the authority to condemn the site. However, the few opponents who spoke made it clear that many who disagree with the conservancy did not come to the meeting because they felt the board already had made up its mind.

Les Hardie, a homeowner, compared the meadow property to the floor of Yosemite Valley, saying that it could turn “this collection of good parks into a great park.”

In a written statement, Elliott McIntire, a professor of geography at Cal State Northridge, proclaimed it “one of the few sizable, relatively flat areas in the entire mountain system which has not yet been extensively developed . . . an ideal site for a wide variety of public uses.”

Richard J. Vogl, professor of biology at Cal State Los Angeles, said although he normally views universities as “a welcome and positive addition to any community,” the Soka site would not be appropriate for a large campus.

“Almost every college campus in the United States has experienced unpredictable and unprecedented growth,” Vogl said, “and the idyllic park-like settings with abundant open spaces have been quickly lost to new buildings and parking lots.”

But Alexis Byfuglian, an Agoura Hills resident and member of the Friends of Soka University, said condemnation would be “immoral.”

“It is not an act of environmentalism, it’s an act of authoritarianism,” Byfuglian said.