End Sought to Extension for Ahmanson : Growth: Attorneys say developer should conduct a new environmental study to reflect changes in nearby areas since the giant project was approved in 1992.

Citing new environmental concerns, opponents of the giant Ahmanson Ranch project appealed to a Ventura County judge Monday to void the county’s decision to grant the developer a three-year extension to begin building the mini-city in the Simi Hills.

Attorneys representing the city of Calabasas and two community groups argued that Ahmanson Land Co. should be required to conduct a new environmental study to address changes that have occurred in surrounding areas since the project was first approved in 1992.

Steve Quintanilla, Calabasas deputy city attorney, said that Calabasas was still an unincorporated at the time the environmental review on the 3,050-home development was conducted. The project site is at the border of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

Quintanilla argued that Calabasas, which became a city in 1991, is now in the process of establishing its own development guidelines and that they are directly at odds with those of Los Angeles County. He said the city’s roads are not suited to handle the added amount of traffic that would be generated by the Ahmanson development, which is designed to include two golf courses. One of the courses would be added to the annual PGA circuit.

“We’re arguing that Ahmanson must reconsider its project’s impacts as it pertains to our General Plan policies,” Quintanilla said.

But Steve Weston, an attorney representing Ventura County, argued that state law does not require a new environmental study because there have been no significant changes made to the planned housing development.

Weston said Calabasas’ proposed General Plan is not relevant to the case because it was not in place at the time the Ventura County Board of Supervisors approved the Ahmanson development.

“The fact of the matter is Calabasas does not have a General Plan,” he said.

During Monday’s hearing, Quintanilla also argued that the primary reason Ventura County supervisors agreed to speed up the approval process for the Ahmanson project was because the developer promised to turn over thousands of acres of mountain property to park agencies by December.

“Had the public known that the developer would be allowed more time, this project would have been subject to a lot more scrutiny,” he said.

In addition to Calabasas, attorneys representing Mountain View Estates Homeowners Assn. and the Agoura Hills-based environmental group Save Open Space also argued in court Monday against the developer’s three-year extension.

Ellison Folk, the attorney for the homeowners association, said that because Ahmanson’s development partner, Potomac Investment Associates, dropped out of the project last year that the development agreement with the county is no longer valid.

But Weston countered that Ahmanson never had a formal partnership or a written agreement with Potomac. Moreover, he said that the county’s development agreement applied only to the Ahmanson Land Co.

Ventura County supervisors approved the Ahmanson project in December, 1992, on the condition that the developer turn over to park agencies 10,000 acres of mountain land--most of it owned by entertainer Bob Hope. So far, only about 3,000 acres, including Hope’s 2,308-acre Jordan Ranch, have been acquired as parkland.

Ahmanson, which plans to dedicate 2,633 acres of its ranch as part of the open space, must deliver two other Hope properties, totaling about 4,700 additional acres, to park agencies before it can go forward with its development.

After supervisors approved the project, Ahmanson Land Co. was hit by a flurry of lawsuits from surrounding communities, including Calabasas, city of Malibu and Los Angeles County over environmental concerns. The case was eventually consolidated into one.

Although a judge ruled last year that Ventura County had complied with all state environmental laws when it approved the Ahmanson project, the case has since been appealed. A ruling on the appeal is expected this fall.

Because of the ongoing litigation, the Board of Supervisors granted Ahmanson’s request for a three-year extension on its development agreement last October.

Following Monday’s hearing, Superior Court Judge Barbara L. Lane said that she would probably make a ruling on whether to void the extension within a month.