175 Upscale Homes, Open Space Proposed in Canyon

A developer has proposed building 175 upscale homes in Dayton Canyon, creating a large subdivision in a fragile hillside area that would also include the designation of 214 acres as permanent open space.

The project proposed by Anaheim-based SunCal Cos. would grade more than 1.7 million cubic yards of earth and eliminate 135 oak trees, said Hadar Plafkin, a planner at the Los Angeles Department of City Planning.

“It’s not an outrageous request considering the acreage they’re providing” for open space, Plafkin said, adding that the plan is consistent with nearby residential developments.

The public comment period on the project’s draft environmental impact report ended Thursday. Plafkin said the city received relatively few comments on the plan, which the developer discussed at two community meetings last month.

Once the environmental report is revised, the city will hold a public hearing on the plan this spring. Because the site is divided between the city and county, the proposal includes annexation by the city of about 76 acres.

The plan involves 365 acres, stretching from Valley Circle Boulevard near Roscoe Boulevard to the Ventura County line. A portion of the proposed open space extends north to Woolsey Canyon Road. The homes would be built on a 68-acre parcel to the north and west of Roscoe-Valley Circle Park.

In a letter commenting on the draft environmental report, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy objected to the grading plan, oak removal and other environmental impacts of the project.

“The proposed project is not designed to work with the landform and ecological constraints on the property,” said the letter by conservancy Chairwoman Elizabeth Cheadle. The conservancy, one of several agencies that SunCal is considering as a recipient of the donated open space, suggested limiting cuts to the slopes and reducing the number of uprooted oaks to less than 35, among other measures.

Bill Rattazzi, a principal of SunCal, said the company plans to reduce the proposed grading by about 60% and scale back the height of the slopes that would be cut. He said that the property contains more than 700 oaks, the majority of which would be preserved, and that some of the trees slated for removal are diseased.

“We’re trying to develop a community that is not out of place with its surroundings,” Rattazzi said.