Negotiators for Ahmanson Granted More Time

In a hectic day of negotiations, the National Park Service on Thursday granted negotiators a little more time to work out a complex deal to develop Ahmanson Ranch.

The park service, which has set aside $19.5 million to buy parkland as part of the massive development planned for Ahmanson Ranch, has requested $5,000 a day to extend its original March 31 deadline to close the $1-billion deal, officials said.

Developers have until the end of today to guarantee they will make up for lost interest on the $19.5 million the park service placed in escrow two months ago, park service Superintendent David Gackenbach said.

But Gackenbach said his patience is running out.

“If we give them a two-week extension that will be it,” he said. “It’s not like we give them two weeks and they come back and say they’re a quarter-inch away, so we give them two more. And they come back and say they’re an eighth of an inch away. They can drag this on forever.”

Although he said he would consider a two-week extension, Gackenbach emphasized that he has not yet set a new deadline.

Approved by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors in December, the Ahmanson Ranch project would create a mini-city in the rolling Simi Hills while turning over nearly 10,000 acres of mountain land to state and federal park agencies.

The deal has been delayed because Ahmanson Land Co., developer Potomac Investment Associates and entertainer Bob Hope have not been able to agree on how to split up profits from the project. Hope owns 7,000 acres on three ranches that would become public parkland.

The National Park Service holds the linchpin for the deal, because it is providing $19.5 million to pay Hope for two of his three ranches.

If the park service withdraws its funds, the entire deal could collapse. Yet Hope’s attorney, Payson Wolff, on Thursday refused to pay all the money needed to keep the park service’s $19.5 million in escrow.

Wolff declined to give “appropriate assurances that would guarantee keeping the money in place for an additional two weeks,” said Laura Plotkin, a spokeswoman for the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, which is brokering the deal and would receive about 4,700 acres of the parkland.

Her announcement followed an intense negotiating session between conservancy Executive Director Joseph Edmiston and Wolff. Optimistic on Wednesday, Edmiston had predicted he might conclude the long-delayed deal during the lunchtime meeting.

Instead, Edmiston said he will suggest that Gackenbach accept a proposal that excludes compensation from Hope, but still offers financial incentives to keep the money in escrow until Wednesday. That would give negotiators more time to sign a final agreement.

Ahmanson Land Co. President Donald Brackenbush and Potomac executive Fred Maas could not be reached for comment.

But a top Ahmanson executive, Bob DeKruif, told county officials after negotiations Thursday that “we’re getting closer and closer” to a deal. According to Russ Baggerly, an aide to county Supervisor Maria VanderKolk, DeKruif also said, “We’re all optimistic.”

Times staff writer Daryl Kelley also contributed to this story.