City Files Lawsuit Over Park Pact

The city of Calabasas has gone to court to block Ventura County’s decision giving the Ahmanson Land Co. an extra three years to turn 10,000 acres into public parkland.

The lawsuit, filed in Ventura County Superior Court, says the Board of Supervisors should have conducted another environmental study before granting the three-year extension in October.

The suit also argues that if Ahmanson could not meet the 1995 deadline for turning over the land, supervisors should have canceled the development agreement to build a mini-city in the Simi Hills.

The original agreement called for Ahmanson to acquire entertainer Bob Hope’s Jordan Ranch, Runkle Ranch, Corral Canyon and Liberty Canyon properties by December, 1995, and sign over 10,000 acres to state and federal park agencies.

In exchange for the public land dedication, Ahmanson was given permission to build 3,050 residential dwellings, plus a town center, two golf courses and a 300-room hotel.

The suit, filed by Calabasas and a homeowners’ association adjacent to the property, says the extension significantly changes the development’s impact on the environment. Those changes needed to be examined before the extension legally could be granted, the suit contends.

The plaintiffs seek a court order overturning the extension.

This is the latest of several suits filed over the Ahmanson project. The extensive litigation, the developer says, prompted the company to ask for the extension because it has been tied up in court instead of working out the details of the agreement.

Ahmanson has prevailed so far in each of the lawsuits, but the decisions are on appeal.