Condemnation Proceedings Against Soka Blocked : Courts: Ventura County judge stops action until after a Dec. 29 hearing, setting up a showdown between the Tokyo-based school near Calabasas and park agencies.

In a compromise ruling that a park agency attorney complained was illegal, a Ventura County Superior Court judge on Friday blocked the initiation of condemnation proceedings against Soka University until after a Dec. 29 hearing.

But Judge Barbara A. Lane declined to prevent the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority from meeting on Tuesday to decide whether to condemn the land, as Soka’s attorneys had requested.

The ruling, which sets up a deadline showdown later this month, was the latest action in a six-year battle between the Tokyo-based school and park agencies over a 244-acre meadow near Calabasas.

The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy wants to turn the property into the headquarters of a national park while Soka wants to expand its small language school there into a full-blown college and high school for 3,400 students.

The authority, a joint powers agency that includes the conservancy and two Ventura recreation districts, had previously received approval from Ventura County supervisors to acquire the land through eminent domain.

Soka’s attorneys are seeking to have the Ventura County vote overturned on the grounds that Ventura County supervisors did not have jurisdiction because the conservancy is a state agency--which they maintain must receive condemnation approval from the state Public Works Board--and because the campus is in Los Angeles County.

That larger issue will be the topic of the Dec. 29 hearing. If Lane decides then to void the Ventura County supervisors’ action, the conservancy would lose its last-minute bid to begin condemnation proceedings before the end of December.

On Jan. 1, a new state law takes effect regarding condemnation of land owned by nonprofit institutions that could add $10 million to the authority’s costs by requiring that Soka be reimbursed for improvements and relocation expenses.

Last month, the authority offered Soka $19.7 million on behalf of the conservancy. Although the sum was reportedly based on a recent appraisal, the school maintains the property is worth far more and has rejected the offer.

Immediately following Friday’s ruling, attorney Robert I. McMurray, representing the conservation authority, said Lane’s decision was illegal because it prevents the filing of an eminent domain lawsuit, at least temporarily.

“Filing suit is a basic constitutional right,” McMurray said.

He said he would have to consult with conservancy director Joseph T. Edmiston before deciding whether to appeal. Edmiston left the hearing early and could not be reached for comment.

During the hearing, Lane explained that she did not want to violate any constitutional rights, but was merely attempting to find some middle ground.

“What I’m asking for is some good faith,” she said. “You’re both very suspicious of each other.”

That lack of trust was evident throughout the three-hour hearing.

McMurray persuaded Lane to include in her ruling a provision that Soka could not block the eminent domain filing after Dec. 29 should the conservation authority win that hearing. When Lane initially said such a provision seemed unnecessary, McMurray responded: “Your Honor underestimates the resourcefulness of Soka University.”

Soka attorney Glen M. Reiser insisted that delaying any eminent domain filing until the hearing is essential because once the conservation authority files, the conservancy plans to immediately dispossess the school and seize the land. McMurray said emphatically that the conservancy has no intention of taking possession of the land until a price is determined after months--and perhaps years--of condemnation hearings.

The judge repeatedly and angrily accused attorneys for both sides of twisting the facts.

Reiser described Soka University as “a vibrant university,” though when questioned by Lane he acknowledged that it now teaches English and Japanese to fewer than 200 students.

McMurray stated several times that the conservation authority might not vote to condemn the property on Tuesday, even though its members voted unanimously in early November to seek the Ventura County supervisors’ blessing to do so.

The judge dismissed that possibility, saying: “Oh, we all know perfectly well what is going to happen on the 22nd.”

Perhaps most troubling to McMurray, and encouraging to Reiser, was Lane’s agreement that the larger case deserved to be heard. She said she was intrigued by Reiser’s arguments and concerned about the “letters of indignation” sent by Los Angeles County Supervisors Mike Antonovich and Deane Dana to their Ventura County counterparts, protesting approval by another jurisdiction of a land condemnation in Los Angeles County.

“It’s looking like he may have something to talk about,” she said.