City Aims for Open Space, Not Housing

Talk about aromatherapy. The smell of sage along the southern slopes of the Palos Verdes Peninsula wafts up to greet visitors as if the hills were part of a giant outdoor spa.

There are, of course, no Jacuzzis or facial peels on those rugged cliffs. But the pleasures for hikers and cyclists include the scent of sage, a glimpse of the endangered blue butterfly or an occasional fox, and the spectacular ocean view to Santa Catalina Island.

That’s why nature enthusiasts and the city of Rancho Palos Verdes hope to stop housing tracts from covering those 800 or so acres, one of the last major open spaces in southern Los Angeles County.

They want to buy the land and create a nature preserve in the area just north of Portuguese Bend, on the eastern side of Palos Verdes Drive South.

“There are other areas preserved around the peninsula, but most of them are only about 20 to 100 acres. That’s postage stamp size in terms of ecology,” said Keith Lenard, executive director of the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy, a nonprofit organization founded in 1988 to preserve undeveloped land. “It’s not just the best of what’s left. It is what’s left,” he said.

Lenard hopes to take advantage of newly available state and federal funds, and private donations, to raise what he estimated to be the $35 million it will take to buy the land.

The land’s owners see the picture differently and the potential price tag much higher. To them it is prime property for expensive, ocean-view homes.

While they would have to set aside some areas to preserve the environment, they say they can develop most of it for homes or agriculture.

The main thing keeping them from selling it off in parcels is a city-imposed moratorium on construction in much of the area because of landslide dangers. If they can show that the land is safe, then they should be able to sell it to developers, the owners argue.

Since 1978, Rancho Palos Verdes has imposed the building freeze on much of the area now under consideration for the preserve.

Evidence of the earth’s movement can be seen in the buckled pavement of Palos Verdes Drive South, just below the bend. According to recent geological studies, parts of the Portuguese Bend area can move more than 6 inches a year.

Like many regions with prime real estate in Southern California, the city is struggling to balance the preservation of open space, the push for development and safety.

Together with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the city is seeking to identify which areas are suitable for conservation and which for development.

Until recently, stabilizing the land was thought to be too costly. But with land prices soaring and new engineering technologies, construction on the land is no longer a dream, according to its owners.

The proposed preservation zone is home to several endangered species, including the California gnatcatcher.

Lenard argues that the area is also important for recreation, and that it is the most accessible open space for the South Bay area.

Nature enthusiasts who do not have time to head to the Santa Monica or San Bernardino mountains can spend hours hiking the Portuguese Bend switchbacks, while taking in the stunning views and a cool breeze off the Pacific. The more adventurous can enjoy horse riding and mountain biking.

Rick Humphries, an artist and graphic designer in Torrance, grew up on the peninsula and still returns to Portuguese Bend whenever he can.

“It’s like you’re stepping into the past,” he said. “It’s how Palos Verdes was when I grew up. I take my family up there all the time and go hiking with my 18-year-old daughter.

“On a warm, sunny day, with the colors of the water . . . you feel like you’re in another world. You forget you’re outside of Los Angeles.”

Nature Conservancy senior science and policy advisor Michael O’Connell said biologists are interested in the land because it is home to a number of rare plants, particularly cactuses, as well as endangered species such as the gnatcatcher.

“It’s a pretty unique place, one of the last natural coastal habitats in Los Angeles County,” said O’Connell.

The effort to turn the Portuguese Bend area into a nature preserve was first batted around in the late 1980s. In 1996, the city purchased 160 acres to the east, which could someday be connected to the proposed preserve.

But it was not until last year that the city requested appraisals of land around the bend, in hopes of buying a roughly 100-acre tract with $4 million in county park bonds earmarked for land acquisition.

Rancho Palos Verdes’s planning, building and code enforcement director, Joel Rojas, said the city voted earlier this month to begin negotiations for the 100 acres as a possible step toward larger purchases.

What makes the timing right, Lenard said, is the recent creation of additional state and federal funds, some of which are available for land acquisition and protection of coastal areas and endangered species.

So far, a wide gap still exists between the city’s estimate of the land’s worth and that of its owners. York Long Point Associates owns most of the land in the western part of the proposed preserve.

Orange County developer Barry Hon’s Palos Verdes Portuguese Bend Land Holding Co. owns most of the land on the east side of the bend, plus the 100 acres on the west side that are under discussion.

Michael Walker, vice president of the Land Holding Co., said his group has not received an offer from the city and would not comment on the land’s value.

Lenard says the time required and the cost of stabilizing the land and getting city permits would eventually persuade owners to sell the land for a preserve.

Jim York, president of York Capital Group, the general partner of Long Point Associates, disagrees. He says only a few million dollars and some heavy-duty cosmetic surgery are needed to stabilize the sliding hills.

York estimates that it would cost about $100,000 per acre to pump out the water and replace some of the slippery clay just below the surface with more stable soil. It’s not a bad deal when ocean-view property can cost more than $500,000 an acre.

York expects the results of a geological study of his land next month. He says he is merely looking for the highest bidder.

“Everything’s for sale. I’m not a developer. I’m a land investor. At this time, the group that appears most likely to offer the highest price is a home builder.”