Ahmanson Makes Deal to Acquire Open Space

Clearing the way for one of the largest housing developments ever approved in Ventura County, Ahmanson Ranch developers have struck a deal to acquire additional land needed for open space.

Home Savings of America has agreed to purchase two ranches from entertainer Bob Hope for an undisclosed amount and turn the land over to local park agencies, Hope spokesman Ward Grant confirmed Wednesday.

That would satisfy the promise that the development firm made six years ago when it won permission to build the $1-billion mini-city on the county’s eastern edge.

The purchase, estimated by some to cost as much as $30 million, should be completed by Friday.

After a decade of negotiations and lawsuits, bulldozers could finally move in and begin grading the 54 million cubic yards of dirt--enough to fill the Rose Bowl three times--for construction of more than 3,000 homes, a commercial complex and golf resort.

“An agreement has been reached, 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 on-again, off-again negotiations with Hope, a deal has been struck that will put the once-stalled project back on track. She, too, declined to comment on any specifics.

“All that 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.”

County planners say they don’t expect any work to begin at the site for at least a year. And foes of the project, who spent years fighting it with unsuccessful lawsuits, say they don’t intend to give up.

“We’ll have to look at the deal before we decide what action to take, but our intention is to keep fighting this until the last house is built,” said Vince Curtis, a board member of the conservation group Save Open Space.

As part of its 1992 agreement with the county, Ahmanson Land Co. is committed to acquiring Hope’s 4,369-acre Runkle Ranch near Simi Valley and his 339-acre Corral Canyon property near Malibu. Ahmanson would dedicate another 2,633 acres of its ranch property to the public, as well.

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

But the project had been stalled because negotiators for Hope and Ahmanson could not settle on a price for the final two properties. It had been reported that Hope’s asking price was more than Ahmanson was willing to pay.

Because of the impasse, Ahmanson missed the 1996 deadline for purchasing the properties, but was granted a two-year extension from the county. That would have expired in December.

Last month, in what some have described as a savvy negotiating ploy, Ahmanson filed a sketchy, two-page application asking the county to scrap its commitments and instead allow it to establish an open space fund in an amount equivalent to the appraised price of Hope’s properties.

According to the application, the fund would then be used by the county for future open space acquisitions. Ahmanson apparently asked the county earlier this week to begin processing the application, which--if passed by the County Board of Supervisors--would have left Hope with nothing.

“It was obvious from the vague request that Ahmanson was using this to put pressure on Hope,” Calabasas City Planner Steve Craig said. “And it looks like it might have worked.”

The impending deal should now open the way for Ahmanson to get the necessary permits to begin grading. The firm would then sell the land to builders.

Spread across 2,408 acres of hilly grassland that borders Los Angeles County, the Ahmanson Ranch project would include 3,050 homes, a sprawling 400,000-square-foot commercial complex, two schools, a 300-room resort hotel and two championship golf courses.

The sheer size of the project and its location in a rustic, undeveloped area of the county has made it a target for critics who contend that it will irreparably damage the environment, specifically the headwaters of Malibu Creek and wildlife corridors through the Santa Monica Mountains.

It has also come under fire from such communities as Calabasas that fear an estimated 10,000 new Ahmanson residents would choke their roadways with traffic.

Los Angeles County officials have also assailed the project because it would generate sizable tax revenues for Ventura County, while dumping all of its negative impacts, such as traffic, on Los Angeles County.

The city of Calabasas and groups like Save Open Space have filed lawsuits against the development based on those assertions. The lawsuits, however, have since been settled or won by Ahmanson.

News of the impending deal, the linchpin in this notoriously controversial project, took many by surprise.

Craig said it was still too early for Calabasas to begin plotting a strategy and didn’t know whether the city would even take any action.

However, the deal will open a new chapter in the Ahmanson saga that could play to the benefit of the opposition.

According to County Planning Supervisor Keith Turner, Ahmanson must now draw up detailed grading and subdivision plans, which must then be approved by the county, before any construction can begin.

That will open the floor for discussion, giving concerned residents and groups the opportunity to voice their objections to county leaders.

Additionally, when Ahmanson begins selling the subdivided parcels to builders, the entire plan and development agreement will again be open to scrutiny and possible lawsuits.

Curtis has said his group is planning to file a new suit against the development, alleging that the soil in and around Ahmanson Ranch may have been contaminated by decades of nuclear and rocket research from Rocketdyne’s Santa Susana Field Laboratory, just three miles away.

“We’ve got a number of options we can pursue. . . . We’re not dead in the water,” Curtis said.

While Ahmanson officials declined to say when they plan on breaking ground for their project, Turner said that if all goes smoothly, it would be at least a year before any bulldozers begin carving up the land.

“This really opens up an entirely new process that will take some time to move through the county system,” he said. “Even if [Ahmanson] brought in their grading and tract plans tomorrow, it would still take at the very least six months, but that’s unlikely.”

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Ahmanson Ranch Deal

The linchpin to the 1992 deal allowing a 3,050-dwelling resort community of Ahmanson Ranch was the dedication of roughly 10,000 acres of public parkland. Park agencies have already purchased from entertainer Bob Hope two mountain properites--the 2,308-acre Jordan Ranch near Oak Park and 300-acre Liberty Canyon near Calabasas--for about $26 million. In a new agreement reached with Hope, Ahmanson Land Co. would purchase 4,369-acre Runkle Ranch near Simi Valley and his 339-acre Corral Canyon parcel in Malibu and turn them over to park agencies. Ahmanson itself would deed 2,633 acres of its ranch to the public.