Calabasas Council Votes to Challenge Ahmanson Ranch : Housing: Los Angeles city and county also are expected to file suits against Ventura County. Officials fear the effect of 3,050 new homes on traffic.

The Calabasas City Council has decided to sue to block the massive Ahmanson Ranch housing project in the Simi Hills, taking the lead in what is expected to be a multi-pronged assault against the development.

Wednesday’s announcement surprised few. Calabasas officials have been laying the groundwork for a lawsuit since initial hearings on the 3,050-house project were held by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors last fall.

Los Angeles city and county are expected to follow Calabasas and file their own legal challenges to the development during the next week, putting the three local governments in the awkward position of suing their colleagues in Ventura County.

Despite the suit, which must be filed before Jan. 15, Calabasas officials said Thursday that they will continue to negotiate with the Ahmanson Land Co. for concessions to reduce the effect of the project on their city.

“What the city of Calabasas is trying to do is reduce the traffic volume in our city,” Mayor Pro Tem Marvin Lopata said. “If I had my druthers, I would like to see the project go away. But I don’t think it will go away. So my objective is to mitigate it to the point that my community, my city will be least affected.”

Although the project lies entirely within Ventura County, its only access is along Los Angeles County roads--Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Calabasas and Victory Boulevard in West Hills--and would dump about 37,000 vehicles a day onto local streets.

Officials from Los Angeles County have long criticized the Ventura County Board of Supervisors for ignoring their concerns about the project’s negative effects.

Calabasas City Atty. Charles Vose said the suit will challenge the adequacy of the project’s environmental impact report and cite procedural violations allegedly committed by the Ventura County supervisors.

Ventura County Supervisor Maria VanderKolk, the project’s most outspoken proponent, suggested the action by Calabasas was intended to wring further concessions from the Ahmanson Land Co.

“Calabasas and the county of Los Angeles are really using the legal process, in my opinion, to extort as much money as possible from the developers,” VanderKolk said. “This was not an unexpected action.”

She has said in the past, however, that the project was approved in accordance with all state laws and is legally defensible.

Ahmanson Land President Donald Brackenbush did not return phone calls Thursday.

The suit is a procedural necessity because state law requires such challenges to be filed within 30 days after a project is approved. Ventura County supervisors voted 4 to 1 on Dec. 15 to allow development on the 5,433-acre sheep ranch.

On a tactical level, the suit keeps Ahmanson executives at the bargaining table. The developer already has agreed to gate Thousand Oaks Boulevard against cut-through traffic, to reduce the size of the project’s 400,000-square-foot commercial center and to contribute about $15 million toward road improvements in Los Angeles County.

The risk for Calabasas and other potential litigants is that if they are unsuccessful in overturning the project, a judge may decide to award them fewer concessions than Ahmanson already has offered.

Even so, several homeowner groups and other local agencies--including Los Angeles city and county--are expected to follow Calabasas’ lead during the next week and either join the city’s challenge or pursue their own.

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Joy Picus said she would introduce a motion today that would authorize the city to sue. Picus is concerned that traffic from the project would clog Victory Boulevard.

Los Angeles County, likewise, appears ready to sue. At a Tuesday meeting, the Board of Supervisors decided to hold off on legal action until next week. But Supervisor Ed Edelman, who represents the area, said litigation appeared inevitable.

“We have no other choice,” he said.

Homeowners who live near the project applauded Calabasas for taking the lead. Bill Bell, executive vice president of the Mountain View Estateowners Assn. said Thursday that his group would probably pursue its own challenge. Les Hardie, president of the Las Virgenes Homeowners Federation, said the umbrella group would vote later this month on whether to join Calabasas in its suit.

“We are elated that our city is going to bat for us,” homeowner Janice Lee said. “This is a clear signal to other groups who were holding back that the time has come. Now they have a leader. They can follow Calabasas’ action.”