SHERMAN OAKS : Dirt Pile Removed From Park Entrance

It’s been more than five years since a developer left a giant pile of dirt blocking the entrance of Dixie Canyon Park in Sherman Oaks, rendering the 20-acre mountain retreat inaccessible to all but the most determined hikers.

But after a five-month, $250,000 restoration project by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, the park will reopen at 2 p.m. Saturday boasting a new trail head and hillsides covered with new plants.

And the pile of dirt is gone.

Crews began work in December to move the 100-cubic-yard mound of dirt and spruce up the canyon park, which was donated to the conservancy by actor Warren Beatty in 1987. A half-mile loop trail through the canyon, which hosts a year-round stream, was built a year later.

Within months, however, a developer building 10 houses nearby did some illegal grading on park property and left the dirt blocking the entrance. The developer admitted culpability and agreed to pay to have the mess cleaned up, but Los Angeles city officials never permitted the conservancy to begin the work.

Heavy rains last year made the mess even worse by causing the hillside to slide. “The whole top layer of hill came right down into the street,” said Deputy Conservancy Director John Diaz.

So in December, after waiting more than 18 months for city approvals, the conservancy exercised its emergency powers authority and began the work without permission.

The entrance to the park at the southern end of Dixie Canyon Place has been redesigned with a rock retaining wall and steps connecting the trail to the street. At present the trail does not connect to others in the area, but conservancy officials hope to link it eventually to Franklin Canyon and Coldwater Canyon Park.