Land Swap Would Expand Scenic Park

Stoney Point park, a picturesque outcropping of sandstone rocks that has become one of the city’s most popular rock climbing and filming sites, would be expanded by 54 acres under a land-swap deal approved Tuesday by the Los Angeles City Council.

Under the proposal, the 22-acre park near Topanga Canyon Boulevard, a quarter-mile south of the Simi Valley Freeway, would more than triple in size by adding the undeveloped land north of the site.

“If this works out, it’s a win-win situation for everyone,” said Francine Oschin, an aide to Councilman Hal Bernson, who proposed the land swap.

Environmentalists and rock climbers hailed the decision as a major move toward preserving open space in the northwest San Fernando Valley.

“It’s very good news because we have seen a lot of encroachment and development on land south of the park,” said Randy Vogel, an Irvine-based attorney and avid rock climber at Stoney Point park.

“I think it is a victory, and certainly I hope the city doesn’t develop it to death” said Jill Swift, a Sierra Club activist and former city parks commissioner who fought to preserve Stoney Point park. “I hope they don’t add a bunch of picnic tables and stuff because once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.”

Oschin said there are no plans in the works to develop the land.

The park is little more than a grouping of boulders that are perched precariously on a 300-foot-high summit. Nearby trails snake around trees, sagebrush and boulders.

It has become a favorite for rock climbers from across the country because it offers a variety of challenges, most only a few feet above the ground.

It has also become a favorite filming site for movie crews looking for unusual rock formations or desert backdrops within driving distance of downtown Los Angeles.

The 54-acre parcel adjacent to Stoney Point park is currently owned by the Valley Christian Presbyterian Church, which had been considering using the land for a new church. But city officials, lead by Bernson, who represents the area, have instead tried to persuade the Arleta church to find another site and to sell the land to the city.

“We’ve been trying to put this deal together for a long time,” Bernson said.

Bernson said the deal began to come together when city officials discovered that the city had 14 acres of undeveloped land near the corner of Corbin Avenue and Rinaldi Street in Chatsworth that they believed could be exchanged for the 54 acres near the park.

The city was planning to develope the 14 acres into a park, but Bernson said it probably was unlikely to happen any time soon.

In addition to the 14 acres, the church has asked for an additional $2 million in exchange for its 54 acres, according to city park officials. Church officials could not be reached for comment.

City officials hope to get the $2 million from a $315-million countywide parks bond measure that, if approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, will come before voters in November.

Bernson said he is optimistic the bond measure will be approved, saying voters approved a similar measure in 1990.