Ahmanson Plan a Bad Idea for County

The Ahmanson development is not required to donate even one square inch, much less the 10,000 acres so widely touted in the Ahmanson Ranch development pre-deal hype. Ahmanson never had an agreement with Bob Hope to purchase his land. With public funds, the National Park Service purchased Jordan Ranch directly from Hope.

The transfer of imaginary rights to build homes on Jordan to Ahmanson Ranch increased the number of real homes that Ahmanson was allowed to build from 34 to 3,305 (not counting granny flats).

The tragedy is the approvals from Ventura County supervisors were based upon these deceptions. As in the children’s story “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” the naked truth is we are now stuck with a gruesome project.

If Home Savings proceeds with existing plans, the new Ahmanson city will be stuck in the open space buffer that is critical for the health and well-being of Las Virgenes, Conejo and San Fernando valley residents.

ROSIE McCABE

Oak Park

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Until the recent approval of the Ahmanson Ranch mini-city in the middle of the open space greenbelt between the Conejo and San Fernando valleys, Ventura County was a positive example of how to avoid leap-frog development.

Ironically, the overriding consideration for its approval was that this development is beneficial to preserving open space. The open space being preserved is that which is being purchased with our tax dollars by our government. Jordan Ranch (2,350 of the 10,000 acres which are to be preserved as a requirement of development) was purchased by the public, not Ahmanson. We now know Ahmanson is not required to donate even one of those 10,000 acres of open space.

Ahmanson/Home Savings will be bulldozing a critical 5,400-acre airshed and extending the boundary of urban sprawl into Ventura County. The Ventura Freeway in the Conejo Valley will be like it is in the San Fernando Valley when Ahmanson City residents join the commute (no mitigation was required of Ahmanson for this development’s impact on the 101 Freeway).

I can only hope that Ahmanson/Home Savings will join others who realize that it’s time to bring an end to sprawl. Los Angeles urban sprawl should end somewhere. Let it be at the Ventura County line where the Ahmanson Ranch/Home Savings open space begins.

LINDA PARKS

Thousand Oaks