Panel OKs Changes in Ahmanson Roads

Ahmanson Ranch developers moved a step closer to construction Thursday as the Ventura County Planning Commission approved a plan for some road improvements, instead of requiring the company to build a new street providing access from Los Angeles County.

Developers said they still have a few hurdles ahead before they can break ground. They must acquire about 4,700 acres owned by entertainer Bob Hope, and they hope to gain approval for a second access road linked to Victory Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley.

Thursday’s decision struck a blow to critics who have assailed the project as detrimental to the environment and contrary to the county’s long-term opposition to the kind of development that has swallowed the San Fernando Valley.

“The bulldozers are poised at the county line,” said Sue Boecker, a member of Save Open Space, which has been a leading critic of the project. “We live in such a unique area, and this kind of development is just going to lead to more.”

Ahmanson Ranch is designed to include 3,050 houses, 400,000 square feet of commercial space, two golf courses, a 300-room hotel and various community facilities.

The original plan, approved in December 1992, required Ahmanson Land Co. to carve an access road through Gates Canyon, an unincorporated tract of land adjacent to Ventura County.

However, the amendment will allow developers to use existing roads in and near Calabasas, provided they pay for various improvements, including street widening and new intersections. Ahmanson Land Co. has agreed to pay $1.3 million to the city of Calabasas.

“It makes a lot of sense,” Ahmanson spokeswoman Mary Trigg said. “It’s fair for everyone involved.”

Although the plan involves Calabasas, a city in Los Angeles County, the Ventura County Planning Commission had to approve the change because the development is proposed for unincorporated Ventura County land southeast of Simi Valley.

Trigg added that, in all likelihood, the move would end the company’s legal battle with Calabasas, which has approved measures that impede development of the enormous project. She said it should also speed the progress of negotiations to acquire the acreage owned by Hope.

According to the original plan, the developers must provide about 10,000 acres of vacant land that would be maintained as either parkland or open space. Ahmanson has already indicated that it would donate more than 2,500 acres of land to meet the quota.

Boecker fears that the amendment to the original plan also sets a precedent that would prompt the developer to seek additional changes.

“Undoubtedly, there’s going to be more major changes,” she said. “It might be another golf course or more houses or they might decide not to require land to be set aside.”

Although the decision moved developers another step closer to construction, Trigg was unable to estimate when crews would break ground because the project hinges on whether Hope is willing to give up or sell his property to be set aside as open space.

The county Board of Supervisors will decide whether developers can proceed with the project at its meeting July 1.