Ahmanson Development Plan Called Bad Deal for Public

Finally someone had the courage to say, “The emperor has no clothes.” I refer to Susan Genelin’s excellent piece on the Ahmanson development deal, and in this case the emperor is the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy (“Offer by Ahmanson Co. Is No Bargain,” Oct. 2). The Ahmanson deal is only the largest and latest of numerous ghastly development projects, usually involving severalfold upzonings, supported and even promoted by the conservancy.

The conservancy gives this support in exchange for the privilege of purchasing the project-associated open space. The open space gets appraised by hand-selected appraisers and rubber-stamped in Sacramento by the General Services Department, often at grossly inflated value.

I’ll bet most people thought they were getting 10,000 acres of free parkland out of this deal. What they are really getting is 3,050 houses on environmentally sensitive land originally zoned for less than 30 houses, tens of thousands of extra cars on the 101 Freeway, increased water and air pollution, and, oh yes, they also get to spend $29.5 million (or more?) for various parcels of land that would have been difficult to develop in the first place.

If there were no Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, the developers would have to invent it. Or have they?

BYRON H. BOTKER

Calabasas

* Regarding the Ventura County Board of Supervisors’ vote to delay the private-for-public purchase of parkland (“Supervisors Favor 3-Year Extension for Ahmanson,” Oct. 25), I have two questions:

Was it in the public interest to extend the purchase of the parkland? Certainly not.

Is the Board of Supervisors representing the best interest of the public, or the Ahmanson Land Co.?

MARY ALTMANN

Agoura Hills

* At last The Times has printed an article (Valley Commentary, Oct. 2) which clearly explains the convoluted nature of the Ahmanson Ranch deal.

When the Ventura County supervisors approved this destructive project, they said the main reason they did so was to bring 10,000 acres of land into public ownership. Let’s just look at who benefited from this arrangement.

Bob Hope got $16.7 million of public money for Jordan Ranch. The land was zoned for 15 houses and had no access easements. It was and still is landlocked. Bob Hope’s friends, Potomac Investment Associates, got to transfer entitlements it never even received over to Ahmanson Ranch. Ahmanson and Potomac got permission to build 3,050 houses, two golf courses and 400,000 square feet of commercial space on land that was zoned for 34 houses. Potomac got $10 million more of public money for land next to a leaky landfill.

Now we’re told the public may have to cough up some more money to keep this deal alive. I say let it die.

ROSIE MC CABE

Agoura