Pierce College to Propose Uses of Surplus Land : Woodland Hills: Officials say the master plan to be revealed next month will not call for housing or high-density commercial development.

The long-awaited Pierce College Master Plan will contain proposals for development on unused portions of the 400-acre Woodland Hills campus, college President Lowell Erickson said Tuesday.

But he assured local residents that the plan, to be made public next month, will not call for housing or high-density commercial development similar to that at nearby Warner Ridge and Warner Center, but may include a golf course or something similar.

“We are just as determined to maintain the open, agricultural and recreational character of our campus as any of our neighbors are,” Erickson said at the annual meeting of the Foundation for Pierce College.

Many residents, who have long feared that the college eventually would sell or lease surplus land to developers, oppose uses other than agriculture for the school farm, which covers more than 200 acres.

Their concerns prompted Los Angeles City Councilwoman Joy Picus to propose a zone change earlier this year to ensure that the school’s rolling hills would not someday sprout office buildings and condominiums.

But Erickson said Tuesday that the financially strapped college, which was founded as primarily an agricultural school, “can no longer afford to leave great sections of our college campus undeveloped.”

“We refer to about half of our 400 contiguous acres as the farm,” he said. “Any of you who drive by or through the campus know that only a fraction of that land is being used for anything that can be realistically referred to as ‘farming.’

“The nature and needs of our agricultural program have changed over the years. What has resulted is that large sections of what was the farm are being vastly underutilized and have become a real liability to the college.”

The neglect of the “underused and underfunded land” has resulted in problems such as erosion, flooding and tumbleweed profusion, Erickson said.

“A major part of our master-planning efforts are being devoted to plans for fully developing and using all 400 acres of our campus during the next several years,” he said.

“Now, let me assure you, whether you live in Woodland Hills or not, when we say develop, we are not talking about high-density development like that of Warner Center and Warner Ridge.”

Erickson said the college is considering agricultural and recreational uses that directly relate to the school’s educational programs and that also will improve and beautify the campus.

He said a golf course is one form of development under consideration because it could be used in a variety of instructional programs, including agriculture, horticulture, physical education and, perhaps, property management.

The campus nature center, long a favorite of residents, would remain because it also fits in with the college’s educational mission, Erickson said.

At the luncheon, the Foundation for Pierce College, which has helped the school raise funds for educational programs for 24 years, embarked on a three-year campaign to raise $350,000 for the college.

Foundation Executive Director Esther Kenyon said the funds, to be raised mainly from corporate donations, will be used for a fitness center that would be used by students and community members, improvements to the college’s performing arts complex and a more ambitious computer lab.