Canyon Acreage Sought by Conservationists : Sherman Oaks: Homeowners applaud agency’s bid to buy embattled site from bankrupt developer. Los Angeles would be asked to pay for maintenance.

In a bid to end a 15-year battle over a pristine canyon in the Sherman Oaks area, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy has announced plans to try to purchase a 55-acre parcel owned by a bankrupt developer and ask the city of Los Angeles to maintain it.

The land would be used as a park.

Since the late 1970s, the piece of land between Longridge Terrace and Dixie Canyon Avenue north of Mulholland Drive has attracted several developers, who had planned to cut one ridge, fill in the canyon and build homes on the resulting flat space.

Those proposals brought protests from environmentalists and local homeowners, who said the canyon is a key link in a Santa Monica Mountains wildlife corridor. But after blocking one planned development, opponents were forced to accept a compromise in the 1980s allowing construction of homes on two-thirds of the land.

The developer, Griffin Homes, filed for bankruptcy in March, 1992.

“One way or another, we’ve prevented the different landowners from building on the land,” said Susan Genelin, a leader of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn.’s committee to stop development in the area. “We see this as our golden opportunity now that the land may be available for an all-time low.”

Although no price has been set for the land, Griffin Homes listed the parcel as an asset worth $2 million when it filed for bankruptcy. Final building plans called for 19 estate homes to be sold for up to $3 million apiece.

At its meeting Monday night, the conservancy plans to propose that Los Angeles pay for security, fire prevention and trail repair for at least five years, conservancy Deputy Director John Diaz said. Maintenance would likely cost several hundred thousand dollars a year, he said.

Because of a limited supply of park bond funds, the deal’s completion is far from certain, said Katharine Macdonald, spokeswoman for City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, who represents the area.

“There are a lot of demands on those funds, and there are any number of properties along Mulholland that might qualify for them,” Macdonald said. But the Griffin Homes property, she said, “is a high priority for acquisition.”

Despite being nearly tapped out by the recent purchase of Jordan Ranch from comedian Bob Hope for $16.7 million, the conservancy should have enough money to buy the Griffin Homes land, Diaz said.

It was unclear when the land would be put on the market or if other developers plan to bid. The city’s approval of the Griffin Homes project remains in force, but any new plans would be subject to further review.

Keith Honig, attorney for Griffin, said the planned reorganization of the company includes the liquidation of properties, “but there’s no set time frame for when it will be on the market.” A hearing to approve the bankruptcy plan is scheduled for August.

Genelin said nothing would please residents of the area more than adding the parcel, with its oak and walnut forest, two streams and abundant wildlife, to local parkland.

“We look out our windows and watch the red-tail hawks teach their babies how to fly on that land,” she said. “That is their land. It’s hard to explain how spectacular it is to watch them, or how scared those great, big babies are when they’re learning to fly. But all that would be lost if the development went through.”