Deervale Canyon Residents to Fight Building of Hillside Homes

If the luxury homes recently proposed for Deervale Canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains are ever built, they will have a commanding view of the San Fernando Valley.

But a dim view is being taken of the plan by neighbors, who say the 80-acre project will ruin a scenic ridge that should be preserved as parkland. The developer, Shawbeth Inc. of Glendale, wants to build a gated 24-home community that would be the largest hillside development in Sherman Oaks in six years.

When Shawbeth submitted a project description to the city more than a year ago, the Los Angeles Planning Department ordered a full-scale environmental study based on the development’s mountain location and the proposed extensive grading. Larry G. Gray, engineer for the project, said that Shawbeth plans to submit a preliminary study by the end of this month.

Although the number of homes planned has been reduced by two-thirds since the project was first introduced by another developer in 1978, it is still drawing fire from the powerful Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn. The heart-shaped tract is located south of Valley Vista Boulevard and Round Valley Drive, between Stone Canyon Avenue and Deervale Place.

“They intend to rip off the top of the Stone Canyon ridge and dump it in the canyon below Deervale,” said association president Richard Close. “This is a cut and fill--the worst type of hillside development.”

To build the homes, Shawbeth would have to remove 700 of 1,150 trees currently existing on the property, and move 1.1 million cubic yards of dirt, according to the project description. The two-story homes are estimated to cost between $500,000 and $3 million each.

Close said he is worried that the hillside development could further destabilize land that is susceptible to mudslides. He added that the grading of what he called a major ridge runs counter to the city’s goal of preserving the Santa Monica Mountains. And traffic generated by the development will clog the winding, narrow streets, he said.

But Gray said that any construction in the mountains involves some cut-and-fill development.

“Building on the property is going to make it more stable, not less,” Gray said. “Some of the steep natural hillsides that could have slides will be graded out and be replaced with flatter hillsides.”

Nicholas Lam, Shawbeth’s vice president, said, “We will do everything we can to minimize the environmental impact” of the development, which he said would provide buyers with homes with spectacular views on three-acre lots.

Shawbeth executives said they decided to pursue approval from city officials now, because they expect an improving real estate market. Depending on the market and assuming that the project clears all governmental hurdles, Lam said it’s possible that construction could begin next year.

City Councilman Mike Feuer, who represents the area, “views this project with extreme skepticism,” said spokesman Howard Gantman. Some of Feuer’s concerns are the amount of grading that’s being proposed, disturbances to the surrounding neighborhoods and the loss of a major canyon to the public.

The document that Shawbeth plans to file with the city this month is called a “database,” or a very preliminary environmental impact report. After the city accepts the report, Shawbeth--with input supervision from city planners--must complete a draft environmental study, undergo a public comment period and finish the environmental report.

The city’s so-called Deputy Advisory Agency, which decides on subdivision applications, will make the final decision--but the agency’s ruling can be appealed to the city Planning Commission, and ultimately, the City Council. The whole process, if no appeals are involved, is expected to take about 13 months.

Close, of the homeowners association, said his group will fight the project in the public comment period.

“God made the land vertical, these people want to make it horizontal,” he said.