Planning Board Delays Vote on Ahmanson Project : Development: Many of the 69 who testified told the Ventura County agency that the parkland benefits outweigh environmental damage.

Fatigued by seven hours of testimony, the Ventura County Planning Commission on Thursday delayed a vote until this morning on the $1-billion Ahmanson Ranch housing project, a proposed mini-city just west of Calabasas.

Overnight, the commissioners could savor the comments of 69 witnesses, most of whom said that the 10,000 acres of public parkland included in the Ahmanson deal outweigh the environmental damage that the 3,050-dwelling project would do to the Simi Hills.

The project’s opponents--two large environmental groups and Los Angeles County communities--repeated arguments that the San Fernando Valley will get all of the project’s traffic and smog but none of its financial benefits.

Los Angeles County planning commissioners also discussed the Ahmanson project Thursday, although they have no formal role in approving or denying permission to build the project. County planners presented a report on the project’s status, including their observation that the Ventura County Board of Supervisors is expected to approve it, said Frank Meneses, supervising regional planner.

Responding to the planning commissioners’ concerns about the project’s impacts on Los Angeles County, Meneses explained that Los Angeles County may have some leverage in requesting mitigation measures because the primary access street to the development, according to present planning documents, would cross Los Angeles County land now designated as open space.

Meneses said the Los Angeles County planning staff informed Ahmanson in a letter that the developer will have to request a Los Angeles County plan amendment or a change to the conditional use permit issued for a project called Morrison Ranch in order to build the street. The street would cross land covered by the permit granted to the Morrison Ranch project on the Los Angeles County side of the boundary.

After a vote this morning, the Ventura County Planning Commission will forward its recommendation to the Ventura County Board of Supervisors for a final decision Tuesday.

At opposite philosophical ends of Thursday’s testimony were a letter from Gov. Pete Wilson’s planning director endorsing the project and the plea of an 8-year-old Agoura girl who asked that the development be stopped.

“Save the animals,” Susan Spaulding pleaded in a tiny voice. “Ahmanson is trying to destroy them by building houses where they should live.”

But Wilson’s planning chief, Richard Sybert, noted that the 10,000 mountain acres that the deal would leave in public hands offer “compelling regional and state benefits.”

“The value of these strategically located natural and open space areas cannot be overstated,” Sybert said.

Also at play Thursday were the side negotiations between Ahmanson and the city of Calabasas, a key project opponent.

A main concern of Calabasas and Los Angeles City Councilwoman Joy Picus--both of whom have said they may try to block the project in court if Ventura County approves it--are the vehicles that are likely to cut through the new community to get from the western San Fernando Valley to Calabasas, rather than taking the Ventura Freeway.

Ahmanson Land Co. officials said Thursday that they are prepared to put a gate on the private main road into the new community to keep non-residents from using it as a shortcut and to reduce by one-third the size of shops in the town center. That would slash auto trips through the area by 30%, Ahmanson Land Co. President Donald Brackenbush said.

“If that was the thing that made everybody happy, then we would do it,” Brackenbush said after the hearing.

Calabasas City Councilwoman Lesley Devine said the change would “start to make us a little bit more happy,” but that Ahmanson would also have to slash the number of homes in the project for Calabasas to be satisfied.

If the gate is added, Brackenbush said, Ventura County planners may decide to restudy the project.

And the delay would likely kill the deal, Brackenbush said, since entertainer Bob Hope has set a Jan. 15 deadline for park agencies to close their deal for his mountain acreage in the Simi Hills and the Santa Monica and Santa Susana mountains.

Ahmanson Land Co. and developers of Hope’s nearby Jordan Ranch consolidated their proposals at Ahmanson Ranch last year and offered to turn over nearly 10,000 acres of mountain land to the public.

Hope would be paid $29.5 million for his share of the land, an amount county officials say is far less than its worth but a price opponents say is no bargain.

The project would transform part of the Ahmanson Ranch into an upscale mini-city with 8,700 residents, a 300-room hotel, two professional-quality golf courses, and a town center of dozens of shops and government buildings.

At Thursday’s hearing, supporters said the project represents a rare opportunity to acquire parkland if government moves swiftly, while opponents said officials are being pressured by Ahmanson and Hope into a bad deal for marginal properties.

“This public process is a sham and a mockery,” said Mary Wiesbrock, director of Agoura-based Save Open Space.

She said Ventura County has rushed its consideration of the project and released important documents late, making it impossible for the public to properly analyze the proposal.

Thousand Oaks Councilwoman Elois Zeanah said the Ahmanson package may look good at the moment, but that it reminded her of “stories of dealing with the devil. We get something now, but the devil stays here forever.”

Ventura County supervisors put the joint project on a fast track a year ago so that they could make a quick decision and retain multimillion-dollar state and federal park commitments on the deal.

Joseph T. Edmiston, executive director of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, said Thursday that Hope’s mid-January deadline is real and that a delay could release the $29.5 million to other projects.

“Ventura County has done a damned good job” in negotiating a good deal, Edmiston said. “And it is not because of the pressure the developer has put on you, it’s because of the pressure you have put on the developer.”

The project drew its greatest support from business interests, labor unions and the construction industry. The chambers of commerce in Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley and Camarillo all supported the plan. The project would create 500 construction jobs and 1,700 permanent jobs, they said.

Times staff writer Amy Pyle contributed to this story.