Land Deal Clears Way for Ahmanson Ranch Homes

After nearly a decade of lawsuits and negotiations, the $1-billion Ahmanson Ranch housing development at Ventura County’s eastern edge has cleared its final hurdle with the developer striking a deal to acquire additional land for open space.

The developer’s parent company, Home Savings of America, has agreed to purchase entertainer Bob Hope’s 4,369-acre Runkle Ranch near Simi Valley and his 339-acre Corral Canyon parcel in Malibu for an undisclosed amount, Hope spokesman Ward Grant said. The property would then be turned over to parks agencies.

That would clear the way for bulldozers to move in and begin grading the 54 million cubic yards of dirt--enough to fill the Rose Bowl three times--for the construction of more than 3,000 homes, a commercial complex and golf resort at Ahmanson Ranch.

“An agreement has been reached and the deal will close Friday, but I am not aware of any details,” Grant said. “However, it was something that Mr. Hope felt was fair.”

Home Savings spokeswoman Mary Trigg confirmed that after years of intermittent negotiations, an agreement had been reached that would put the once-stalled project back on track. But she declined to comment on specific details.

“All I can say is that it was an equitable settlement for both of us,” she said. “We are very pleased with what’s been accomplished.”

Under its 1992 agreement with Ventura County, Ahmanson Land Co. is committed to donating 9,947 acres of undeveloped land, which includes Jordan and Runkle ranches, Corral and Liberty canyons and a portion of the Ahmanson Ranch property, before it can get grading permits to begin construction.

In a side deal with Hope, parks agencies purchased two of the properties promised them in the Ahmanson deal--the 2,308-acre Jordan Ranch near Oak Park and the 300-acre Liberty Canyon near Calabasas in Los Angeles County--for about $26 million.

As planned, the Ahmanson Ranch project would include 3,050 homes, a sprawling 400,000-square-foot retail complex, two schools, a 300-room resort hotel and two championship golf courses. The development would be laid out over a 2,408-acre parcel of rolling grassland in Ventura County, adjacent to the Los Angeles County line.

The new deal, long the sticking point for the notoriously controversial project, took many by surprise.

Save Open Space board member Vince Curtis vowed that the conservation group would continue its efforts to halt the project.