Conservancy Girds for Competition at Auction : Newbury Park: Broome Ranch will draw bids from developers. Public agencies may share costs if environmentalists win.

Just for kicks, Fred Havens spent a night on the craggy cliffs of Broome Ranch recently--and his awe-struck description of the expansive backcountry indicates why environmentalists are so eager to buy the property at auction today.

“The coyotes were howling, all the stars were out, and it was absolutely magnificent,” said Havens, a vice president with the Piatelli Co., which will auction the 640-acre Newbury Park ranch at 1 p.m.

After touring the rugged wilderness this week, the chairman of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, Jerome Daniels, could only agree.

“It’s everything they said it would be--it’s perfect,” Daniels said, peering at a white-tailed kite as it plunged toward a scrub-covered canyon.

Their appreciation for the ranch heightens environmentalists’ anxiety about what could happen at the auction.

Phillip Roth, a senior vice president for the Piatelli Co., said he expects half a dozen to a dozen developers to show up with the $200,000 cashier’s check required to register for the bidding.

While Roth would not divulge prospective developers’ plans, Broome Ranch’s northernmost stretch, a flat, grassy plain just off Potrero Road, has been mentioned as a possible site for projects ranging from a few ranch-style estates to a 350-home community.

Because public parks agencies are not allowed to pay more than a property’s appraised fair-market value, conservancy Executive Director Joseph T. Edmiston fears a developer could “literally bid the ranch out from under us” by offering just a few dollars more than the conservancy’s ceiling.

The bidding will take place in the open, with would-be buyers raising placards and shouting their offers, Roth said. The property is listed at $12 million, but few analysts expect it to fetch that much.

At a brief, closed-door meeting late Monday night, the conservancy’s board of directors drafted an auction strategy. But Edmiston would not release details or even confirm that the conservancy plans to bid.

If the agency does succeed in buying Broome Ranch, the National Park Service, the city of Thousand Oaks and the Conejo Park and Recreation District have all but promised to help cover the tab by purchasing slivers of the ranch for their own use.

The Park Service, which has about $3 million left over from its recent acquisition of Bob Hope’s Jordan Ranch, would like to buy 144 mountainous acres of Broome. And Thousand Oaks has expressed interest in building a golf course or a new equestrian facility on the low-lying portion of the property.

The city might consider buying part of Broome Ranch using developer fees from the sprawling Dos Vientos project, slated to be built across Potrero Road from the property, Mayor Judy Lazar said. Thousand Oaks has already collected $1 million and is due to receive another $600,000 from the Dos Vientos developers soon, Lazar said.

Offering support from another direction, the park district’s general manager, Tex Ward, said he might be able to loan the conservancy up to $1.4 million.

But so far, not one agency has come up with a formal plan to help the conservancy--partly because, as Lazar said, “we’re all in the very tentative position of not knowing how much money will be required.” Each group would have to negotiate a separate arrangement with the conservancy.

Given the uncertainties, Edmiston emphasized that the conservancy would “obviously not conclude a deal (at the auction) unless we had the funds to cover it.” To finance a multimillion-dollar acquisition, the agency might have to borrow money or pay in installments, he said.

“Basically, we’re all looking into our piggy banks,” the conservancy’s Rorie Skei said.

As they toured the ranch on Monday--white Suzuki Sidekicks lurching past blooming cacti, black walnut trees and skittish quail--conservancy members repeatedly emphasized the importance of acquiring the ranch for its trails, wildlife habitat and arid beauty.

Home to mountain lion, bobcat and gray fox, the ranch encompasses chaparral-covered cliffs and seasonal marshes. At several points, it crests in lookout plateaus surrounded by rugged mountains.

“I think we all know the critical nature of protecting the urban limit line of Potrero Road,” Edmiston said. “I don’t think there’s a single question in anyone’s mind that the property does need to be acquired” by a park agency.

But some developers would like to get their hands on the ranch as well.

“We’re encouraged by the interest. It’s a pretty well-located piece of property,” auctioneer Roth said.

Despite the nibbles from developers, auctioneer Havens tried to bolster the spirits of conservancy members as they gazed out toward Old Boney Mountain. “You’re our favorite customer,” he assured the environmentalists.

Yet Skei, anticipating competition from deep-pocketed developers at the auction, wasn’t taken in by the flattery. Curtly, she responded, “We’ll see.”