Conservancy May Get Back in Driver’s Seat
* Your Nov. 3 article, “Conservancy’s Land Buy May Kill Its Soka Bid,” wrongly assumes that the Topanga Canyon, Canyon Oaks Estates development-versus-parkland issue has finally come to an end. This issue is far from over. Our organization, Taxpayers United for Fairness has filed a writ of mandate which asks the Superior Court to review the deal between the Disney family trust, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and Los Angeles County for the purchase of 662 acres of land. Our writ requests the court to substantially lower the price paid by the conservancy for the land. This price was set using a 2-year-old appraisal, done before property values in Southern California dropped drastically. The conservancy overpaid by millions of dollars.
Since the state is barred from paying more than fair market value, we expect to be successful in our writ. If the judge agrees with us, the conservancy could gain the millions it needs to be back in the driver’s seat on the Soka deal.
L. PAUL COOK
Topanga
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