Development Foes, Endangered Species Win Victories in 2000

In clashes over development and the environment, sometimes the meek prove a match for the mighty.

It happened this year when a small frog--and an even tinier toad--were among a handful of species that were proposed for millions of acres in California set aside for critical habitat to help boost their dwindling numbers. That will lead to more work for builders of the Ahmanson Ranch project in Ventura County and the massive Newhall Ranch project in northern Los Angeles County.

Endangered species were no longer just about owls in Oregon or Arctic whales, said Peter Galvin of the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the groups that sued federal wildlife officials for failing to designate habitats.

“The profile of endangered species got more exposure in Southern California in particular,” Galvin said. “People are connecting the dots that protection of endangered species is also protection of our quality of life.”

The year also brought the final chapter to the Santa Monica Mountains North Area Plan, a long-sought land-use plan designed to protect the rugged region while closely controlling growth.

The plan addressed years of rampant development in the environmentally fragile Santa Monicas, and followed disclosures in The Times that the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors repeatedly changed the plan governing growth to allow campaign contributors to build higher-density developments. The resulting urban sprawl has crowded schools, clogged roads and harmed the environment, the series of articles found.

The county also tightened rules governing how developers calculate the number of homes they are allowed to build after disclosures of instances of overbuilding.

Development wars also became regional standoffs, pitting one county against another.

Though the Newhall Ranch project was approved by Los Angeles County, neighboring Ventura County and environmentalists continued their efforts to halt it, citing concerns over the effect on wildlife and questions of the adequacy of the water supply.

At the same time, the Ahmanson Ranch project, which has the green light from Ventura County, faced a continuous assault from Los Angeles County officials, environmentalists and others who want the project shelved.

While those issues were continual themes in regional development and the environment, another hot-button topic, water, was a surprise.

Drinking water is typically not the stuff of raging public debate, but this year it managed to both frighten and dismay residents, and to spur official action.

Concern centered on the health threat of the substance chromium 6 in public water supplies, and a plan by the city of Los Angeles to use converted sewage for drinking water.

State drinking water standards allow up to 50 parts per billion of total chromium, and federal standards allow 100 ppb. But some state health officials are considering tighter standards, lowering total chromium levels to 2.5 ppb.

An Aug. 20 story in The Times highlighted possible dangers from the toxic heavy metal in water and disclosed that state regulators expected to take five years to decide whether to tighten standards. Later stories showed the current lack of reliable data with which to assess any threat to public health.

Local and state officials, including Gov. Gray Davis, responded with new rounds of water testing, covering more than 100 wells, day-care facilities and health centers. Officials set strict new deadlines for deciding what, if any, risk higher concentrations of the chemical pose under current standards.

Drinking water was at the center of another controversy that erupted when residents and some lawmakers objected to plans by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to treat sewage for use as drinking water.

Though the reclaimed water project was in the planning and construction stages for years and was ready to proceed, the program was put on hold last summer after an angry public backlash.

Water also played a pivotal role in a court case over the massive Newhall Ranch development, the largest residential development project in Los Angeles County. Its 12,000 acres will straddle the Santa Clara River, which is the region’s last free-flowing river.

In June, a Kern County Superior Court judge temporarily blocked construction of the 22,000-home project until developers could provide further guarantees of a reliable water supply and all environmental effects are fully studied.

That water question resulted in one surprise: Though Ventura County has opposed the Newhall Ranch project and sued Los Angeles County over its approval, a Ventura County water district said it thinks the developer should be allowed to divert and store storm water from nearby Castaic Creek. This is a potential water source that may resolve the water supply question.

In the meantime, developers of the project, Newhall Land & Farming Co., also learned that the San Fernando Valley spineflower, once thought to be extinct, had been found on their property.

Species protection grew even hotter this year when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced proposals for millions of acres of land in the state to be designated as habitat for the red-legged frog, the arroyo toad and other species.

The proposed habitats include land at Newhall Ranch and the 3,050-home Ahmanson Ranch project in Ventura County. If approved, the habitats prevent destruction of wildlife, and landowners seeking federal permits must prove a project won’t harm the designated species or habitat.

Those potential development limitations have put the Building Industry Assn. of Southern California and its 1,800 members on alert.

California is in a housing crisis with demand far exceeding supply, says David Smith, general counsel for the association.

“The regulatory programs coming forward have unprecedented breadth in their application and impact, and while frequently well intentioned, we are concerned the science to back them up is lacking,” Smith said. The potential negative impact on the housing crisis, he added, may be “dangerous.”

At both Newhall Ranch and Ahmanson Ranch, species protection this year did not kill the developments, but burdened them with more regulatory oversight and compliance.

The discovery of the spineflower and the red-legged frog at Ahmanson Ranch led to Ventura County’s request for a follow-up environmental study to look at both species, air pollution, water issues and other concerns. It will update a 1992 environmental report that was approved by Ventura County supervisors at the same time as the project.

Although development and environmental issues often escalate into contentious duels, one milestone in October was the result of years of community input and compromise.

The Santa Monica Mountains North Area Plan was approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors after community members and local and federal agencies worked together to draft guidelines.

The land-use document will guide development for 21,172 acres of rural, unincorporated land in a 32-square-mile area from Calabasas to the Ventura County line. Though it does not placate all critics, the plan places protection of the mountains as a priority over development.