Ahmanson Ranch Plan Endangered by Rare Plant

Armed with the discovery of what was thought to be an extinct plant, U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman and several Los Angeles County officials are launching a new effort to block development of the giant Ahmanson Ranch project along the southeastern edge of Ventura County.

Their effort involves a political, environmental and public appeal to the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Sherman, whose district includes Thousand Oaks, and a dozen politicians with constituents in Los Angeles County hope to stall the federal permitting process on a portion of the proposed development long enough to get the San Fernando Valley spineflower onto the federal endangered species list. The spineflower was believed to have been extinct for 50 years until it was discovered on the Ahmanson property earlier this year.

Those opposed to the development believe getting the spineflower on the endangered species list would create significant hurdles to the completion of the housing development, which could begin construction in 2001. They expect the spineflower to be classified as an endangered plant sometime next year, said Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks).

“We’re opposed to this project, and we want to make sure every federal agency is aware of all of the reasons the project should not go through in its present form,” Sherman said Monday.

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Adrian Rodriguez, a spokesman for Seattle-based Washington Mutual Inc., which owns the property, declined to comment on the newest attempt to block the controversial project. He said only that his company is “working cooperatively with all the appropriate state and federal environmental agencies and have been for a number of years to ensure the project continues to be good for the environment in addition to meeting the growing housing and job needs of the surrounding communities.”

Washington Mutual officials already have promised they would try to protect the spineflower, as well as the California red-legged frog, a threatened species found in East Las Virgenes Creek, which runs across a portion of the property.

The development, which would take about 14 years to complete, would sit on 2,800 acres and include 3,050 homes and commercial space that could include a hotel and two golf courses. The development is expected to increase area traffic by as many as 45,000 cars each day.

Although the development would be located entirely in Ventura County, it would only be accessible from roads running through Los Angeles County, officials said. The officials also said L.A. County would get the brunt of the added traffic and any water pollution, from East Las Virgenes Creek to Malibu Creek to Santa Monica Bay.

Last week, Sherman and the other politicians, including state Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Los Angeles) and Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, kicked off their efforts to get a more extensive environmental review in a letter to the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

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In the letter, they asked the EPA to pressure the Army Corps of Engineers to conduct an extensive environmental review before the corps signs off on a permit that is crucial to the future of the development. Without pressure from the EPA, they wrote, “there is a strong possibility that the Corps will not prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.”

The EPA declined to comment on the permit issue when it was applied for last year, but Sherman said that with the discovery of the spineflower he believes the agency will reconsider. An EPA spokeswoman said Monday the agency had yet to make a decision on whether or not it will weigh in on the permit but would be reviewing the letter and permit application.

A spokesman for the Corps of Engineers declined comment Monday, saying he had not yet reviewed the letter.

The permit in question would decide whether Washington Mutual, the owner of Ahmanson Land Co., could proceed with plans to remove millions of cubic tons of soilto grade an area of the development known as Laskey Mesa and to build 650 homes and a golf course, said an aide to Sherman. That plan also would involve dredging a portion of east Las Virgenes Creek and filling it with the soil removed in the grading process.

Sherman contends that this portion of the project could pollute waters downstream from the development and could harm the spineflower. He said if the Corps of Engineers requires only an environmental assessment, rather than a more extensive Environmental Impact Statement, the permit would be more likely to be approved.

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Meanwhile, if the permit were approved before the spineflower was classified as an endangered species, the federal agency might not have the same mandate to consider the fate of the plant. An Environmental Impact Statement would probably take longer to compile--long enough, Sherman hopes, to get the spineflower on the endangered list.

Also last week, Sherman and others met with Col. John Carroll, commander and district engineer for the Corps of Engineers’ Los Angeles District, and got him to agree to hold a public hearing in February, prior to any final decision on a permit.

In the coming days, Sherman said, his office is preparing to send a letter, report and petition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service urging that agency to proceed with protections for the spineflower. “This is a strategy where we’re hitting with glider troops and paratroopers. We’re going simultaneously using everything we’ve got,” Sherman said.