TOPANGA CANYON : Board Puts Off Call on Luxury Project

The longest-running land-use dispute in Los Angeles County history dragged on Thursday as the Board of Supervisors delayed until March its decision on a luxury housing project and golf course proposed for Topanga Canyon.

After listening to more than two hours of testimony, supervisors asked county planners to prepare a report explaining how current plans for Canyon Oaks Estates differ from a similar proposal the board rejected in 1991.

Planners will respond and public testimony will continue March 10.

Developers are seeking permission to build a private golf course and 97 custom home sites on 257 acres in the upper reaches of Topanga Canyon, about three miles south of the Ventura Freeway.

Those plans were approved by the Regional Planning Commission in December but are now under final review by the supervisors.

Many environmentalists and residents of Topanga Canyon oppose the development, calling it inconsistent with the rural flavor of their community.

Thursday’s hearing was the latest skirmish in a battle that began in 1978, when another developer proposed building a larger number of houses, a hotel, a shopping center and equestrian facilities.

That proposal was eventually scaled back but was nonetheless rejected by county supervisors in 1991.

Three months later, the board reversed itself and decided to reconsider the project.

By that time, the project had been taken over by Sharon Disney Lund, daughter of Walt Disney.

Lund died last year, and the development is now being steered by a family trust.

Opponents argue that the project would degrade the water quality in Topanga Creek, require substantial grading, cut off a critical wildlife corridor and pose a fire hazard in the rugged terrain of the Santa Monica Mountains.

They want the golf course removed from the project and the number of home sites reduced.

Many advocate preserving the land as a park.

Project manager Charles McLaughlin said his development team is willing to sell the property to preservation agencies but never received a fair market offer.

He also argued that the project’s flood-control and filtration systems would improve the quality of water in Topanga Creek and that the golf course would provide a natural break against wildfires.