Ahmanson Project in Simi Hills Approved : Development: Plan for $1-billion mini-city and 9,949 acres of public parkland is OKd by supervisors in Ventura County. The deal requires state and U.S. action.

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved construction of the $1-billion Ahmanson Ranch housing development after deciding that the nearly 10,000 acres of public parkland included in the deal outweighs the environmental damage the mini-city could do to the Simi Hills.

Most supervisors said the parkland acquisition--the largest by the state in decades--represents a unique opportunity to protect large swaths of open space forever.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Supervisor Maria VanderKolk, who voted with the majority in the 4-1 decision. Only Supervisor Susan Lacey voted against the project.

The vote culminated a six-year effort by the Ahmanson Land Co. to develop part of its 5,433-acre sheep ranch in the rolling hills west of the San Fernando Valley. Its chances were boosted last year when Gov. Pete Wilson endorsed the plan because of its parkland benefits.

The supervisors’ approval Tuesday, however, does not mean immediate construction of the 3,050-dwelling golf course community.

First, state and federal park officials said they must seal the deal to obtain from Ahmanson and comic Bob Hope the 9,949 acres of mountain land ringing the western San Fernando Valley. Hope, who would get $29.5 million in state and federal funds for his three-quarter share of the land, has set a Jan. 12 deadline, officials said.

The mountain acreage is on five separate parcels that stretch from Simi Valley to Malibu. The land would be kept as public parkland in perpetuity.

The developers also must try to resolve their differences with Los Angeles County and the cities of Los Angeles and Calabasas, the jurisdictions that would bear the brunt of the project’s traffic and smog--and where street improvements are needed to accommodate the new community.

Calabasas and Los Angeles officials have threatened lawsuits to stop the project or force significant reductions in its size.

But Calabasas officials said Tuesday that they were close to an agreement with Ahmanson that would pay the city more than $7 million, reduce the project’s office and retail space by 20%, and cut traffic by 10% to 20%.

Los Angeles Councilwoman Joy Picus said she still opposes the project because it will dump thousands of cars a day onto Victory Boulevard on the ranch’s eastern flank.

“My position has not changed one iota,” Picus said. “This is a residential street and the quality of life for people who live there will be disrupted. I am committed to doing anything in my power not to let that happen.”

Picus said she has contacted city lawyers about the possibility of legal action. Homeowners and environmental groups have said they might go to court to block the project.

The development would transform 2,800 acres of Ahmanson Ranch into an upscale community with 8,600 residents, a 300-room hotel, two golf courses, and a town center of dozens of shops and government buildings.

A principal complaint about the development has been that its adverse effects would be felt most in Los Angeles County, but Ventura County would reap most of its benefits.

Once completed, the project would result in 37,540 vehicle trips a day out of the project onto nearby Los Angeles County roadways. But it would funnel at least $35 million over 30 years to Ventura County’s general fund, planners have said.

Environmental groups--including the Sierra Club and Agoura-based Save Open Space--oppose the project. They say it is an environmental disaster that will prompt the grading of 40 million cubic yards of soil, pollute the air, and destroy rare grasslands and hundreds of mature oak trees.

Both the Ventura County Planning Commission and the county planning staff recommended defeat of the project, citing its potentially severe environmental effects and precedent-setting potential for development of other open space in Ventura County.

The county’s growth-control policies generally force construction of new communities within cities or next to them. No Ventura County city is adjacent to Ahmanson Ranch, though Calabasas and Los Angeles are immediately south and east of it.

But most supervisors doubted that the project will set a precedent usable by other developers.

“I honestly don’t think anything like this will come before the county again,” VanderKolk said. “But if it sets a precedent, it might not be a bad one. Any time the county has the opportunity to put into public ownership the amount of land we’re looking at, it should consider it.”

Citing parkland benefits, Gov. Wilson’s planning chief, Richard Sybert, re-emphasized the Administration’s support last week.

Ahmanson Ranch The project would transform 2,800 acres of the 5,433-acre Ahmanson Ranch into a 3,050-dwelling golf course community that would have two schools, a library, fire station, sheriff’s station and town hall. The remaining 2,633 acres of the ranch would become public parkland. So would 7,316 acres owned by comic Bob Hope, including nearby Jordan Ranch.