Plot to Block Use of Mountain Land Claimed : Suit: Don Henley, city and state officials are accused of conspiring to stop development of parcel in Santa Monicas. They deny the charges.

Rock musician Don Henley and city and state officials have been accused in a lawsuit of conspiring to block development of a parcel of land in the Santa Monica Mountains so the state could buy it for less than its value and protect the solitude of Henley’s Bel-Air home.

The owners of the property above Sherman Oaks contend that officials fraudulently concocted environmental motives for buying the land--such as protecting wildlife habitat--when their real goal was to please Henley.

The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by Richard, Jean and Adam Siegler against Henley and officials, including Los Angeles City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky and Joseph T. Edmiston, executive director of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.

The Sieglers contend that the officials “were motivated by a desire to please and placate Henley, a well-known and well-connected celebrity, in part because he had provided or might . . . provide contributions, connections with the music and entertainment industry, and other benefits to the political careers of these defendants.”

Yaroslavsky and Edmiston called the suit a ploy by the Sieglers to extract more money from the conservancy--a state parks agency--for their property on Mulholland Drive above Sherman Oaks.

Adam Siegler, a lawyer, is “a very litigious individual who thinks that he can bully us with a bunch of absolutely meritless” claims, Edmiston said. “There’s nothing to this lawsuit.”

The complaint is meant “to turn up some publicity heat to try to lever a better price out of the conservancy,” Yaroslavsky said.

Henley, a former member of the Eagles rock band who has been deeply involved in environmental causes, could not be reached for comment Tuesday. His lawyer, Lisa Specht, said that she had not yet seen the complaint but that it “sounds very far-fetched.”

Edmiston said the suit means the end of negotiations over purchase of the land, which Edmiston said is extremely steep, making it difficult to develop.

Adam Siegler could not be reached for comment.

The Sieglers own two lots covering 6.35 acres in the 14100 block of Mulholland Drive, just west of the Henley property.

According to the suit, the Sieglers were making progress in winning approval for a house on one of the lots until Yaroslavsky and the conservancy staff began putting up roadblocks.

The Sieglers’ problems allegedly began after Henley expressed an interest in buying the property and donating it to the conservancy. Henley also donated $4,725 to conservancy officials for an appraisal of the land--which the complaint said made them “guilty of accepting bribes.”

At the same time, Henley and Yaroslavsky “were on friendly terms,” the lawsuit said--since Henley had contributed to Yaroslavsky’s campaigns and once gave a backstage pass for a rock concert to an aide to the councilman.

The Sieglers contend that representatives of the conservancy and Yaroslavsky, along with Henley and another neighbor, Harry Fox, held meetings to fabricate environmental reasons to protect the property--when their real goal was preserving Henley and Fox’s peace and quiet.

Through Yaroslavsky’s intervention, the site’s soil suitability report, approved in 1989, was rescinded by city officials two years later, the suit said.

Last year, Yaroslavsky called on planning officials to conduct a full environmental review before approving construction on the site, although the complaint said he knew a review was unwarranted.

Although their development plans have not been rejected, the suit claims the Sieglers “will never have a fair hearing or a fair review of their building plans” because of Yaroslavsky’s and the conservancy’s influence.

The complaint, which accuses the defendants of fraud and civil rights violations, seeks unspecified damages and an injunction barring them from interfering with use and development of the property.