TOPANGA CANYON : Taxpayer Group Files Lawsuit to Block Park

A taxpayer group has filed a lawsuit attempting to block the creation of a park on 257 acres once targeted for the Canyon Oaks luxury home development and golf course.

In a Superior Court lawsuit filed last Friday in Los Angeles, Taxpayers United for Fairness allege that the purchase of 662 acres of land, including the 257-acre former Canyon Oaks property, by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy was illegal because no environmental impact report was prepared beforehand.

The suit names the conservancy, the county of Los Angeles, the County Board of Supervisors and the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority as defendants. No hearing date has been set.

Liz Cheadle, staff counsel for the conservancy, called the lawsuit “totally meritless.”

“We have absolutely followed all the rules,” Cheadle said. “I don’t know why (the plaintiffs) would rather see development there. Maybe they wanted to play golf. They probably think that their property values would increase if they lived closer to a golf course.”

William Dillon, vice president for the taxpayer group, said he and other plaintiffs wanted 97 luxury homes and a golf course built near their homes because the development would provide a firebreak and access to more water for local residents.

And he said the conservancy’s plans for the property should have been reviewed before the state agency was allowed to purchase the land last month.

“They’re not going to leave it like it is,” Dillon said. “It’s going to be a park. We haven’t the foggiest idea where the entrance is going to be, or what is going to happen on the land.”

He said he and other plaintiffs are worried about increased traffic and possible changes to the pristine landscape. Others, who do not live in Topanga Canyon, simply oppose the expenditure of about $20 million in public funds for the land.

Plans for Canyon Oaks--one of the most controversial developments in Los Angeles County history--were abandoned at the last minute March 10 when Supervisor Ed Edelman announced the surprise sale agreement between the developer and the conservancy.

Hundreds of Topanga residents attending the hearing leaped to their feet and cheered the deal that would preserve the home of deer, coyotes, hawks and mountain lions as open space.