WOODLAND HILLS : Judge Removes Final Dirt Project Barrier

A judge Tuesday denied a request by a group of homeowners and environmentalists to block the removal of 425,000 cubic yards of dirt from the planned Warner Ridge development to the Pierce College farm.

Although he had already refused to block the project on an emergency basis last month, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert H. O’Brien’s unwritten ruling Tuesday removed the last potential barrier to the controversial soil transfer.

Attorney Robert McMurry, who represents the Warner Ridge developer, said his client hopes to begin the dirt-moving project by the end of the week.

“We’re pleased that we seem to have finally overcome all of the obstacles thrown up by the homeowners,” McMurry said. “It’s taken a long time to get to this point.”

Margo Murman, head of the Coalition to Save Pierce College Farm, said she was disappointed that the judge failed to block the project on the grounds that it could disrupt a major foraging area for migrating Canada geese.

“This is the time when the geese start arriving,” Murman said. “The concern is that if the topsoil is being moved, the geese will bypass Pierce. And there aren’t many foraging habitats left for them in the San Fernando Valley.”