Land Dispute Escalates Between Soka University and Conservancy : Courts: War of words mounts as appellate date nears on school plan to expand Santa Monica Mountains site.

Two weeks before Soka University and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy are to face off before a state appeals court, the war of hyperbole between the Japanese school and its opponents is flaring up again.

At issue is a 29-page Sierra Club report that attacks Soka’s plan to expand its campus in the Santa Monica Mountains, calling the proposal one of “the most potentially damaging developments ever proposed” in the region.

The wide-ranging report, circulated over the last month in environmental and political circles, is intended to drum up support for the conservancy’s efforts to seize Soka’s land through eminent domain and also to galvanize opposition to the university’s plans.

“That’s why it hits so many bases,” said Dave Brown, conservation chairman for the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club. Brown helped prepare the report “Soka Development Threatens the Heart of the Santa Monica Mountains.”

“We wanted to make it widely known who Soka is and what they are likely to do in the future so we could try to stop them,” added Elden Hughes, past chairman of the Sierra Club’s Angeles Chapter.

But Soka spokesman Jeff Ourvan blasted the report as a “pack of lies and exaggerations. When we got it, we were outraged by it.” He said Soka officials were consulting with the school’s lawyers over possible legal action against the Sierra Club.

For its part, Soka has put out an eight-page rebuttal to the Sierra Club’s report, taking issue with everything from the proper name of the school to how many acres it occupies. Soka’s rebuttal also disputes the Sierra Club’s characterization of the scenic mountain property as rural.

The timing of the flap is critical, coming as both sides prepare for legal and political showdowns over the next two weeks.

On Tuesday, a state Senate subcommittee will hold a hearing on whether the conservancy, a state agency that purchases parkland, should be permitted to use public money to acquire property through condemnation.

The conservancy is locked in a bitter legal battle with the university over the propriety of its attempts to condemn the school’s land. It is the first time in the conservancy’s 14-year history that it has tried to condemn property.

Both sides will argue their cases before a state appeals court in Ventura Dec. 16.

The court will consider whether the conservancy followed proper procedure when it began condemnation proceedings against the school in 1992. A judge ruled that the conservancy erred when it secured approval from the Ventura County Board of Supervisors to launch an attempt to obtain Soka’s land under eminent domain.

Conservancy lawyers appealed that decision and at the same time filed eminent domain proceedings against the school in Los Angeles County. Those proceedings have been put on hold pending a ruling by the appeals court.

Parks officials have long coveted Soka’s property at the corner of Las Virgenes Road and Mulholland Highway to use as a visitors center to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. In 1992, the conservancy offered to purchase part of the property, but was rebuffed.

Soka officials want to expand their school into a 3,400-student liberal arts college, a proposal opponents argue would destroy the natural environment and choke traffic on narrow Las Virgenes Road.

Although Soka has volunteered to donate part of its property to parks agencies, that offer has been rejected.