Ownership of Site for Reservoir to Be Shifted

In a reversal that their environmental opponents hail as a victory, city officials in Industry plan to rejigger key details of a controversial land deal in which they purchased a pristine canyon two miles outside city limits.

Last November, Industry’s redevelopment agency bought a 2,533-acre slice of Tonner Canyon from the Boy Scouts, presumably to build a reservoir. Environmentalists had tried to buy the land but lost out to the agency.

The environmentalists filed a lawsuit alleging that it was illegal to spend redevelopment funds--meant to alleviate urban blight--on walnut groves, grassy hills and a babbling creek closer to Diamond Bar than Industry.

Now, in response to that allegation, redevelopment officials said they will transfer title back to the city itself. Although the two entities are legally autonomous, they work hand in hand.

“The redevelopment agency borrowed the money from the city in the first place,” said Michael Montgomery, legal counsel for the agency. “This is just easier than dealing with the litigation.”

The Boy Scouts, also named as defendants in the lawsuit, said the Scouts still plan to sell the land to Industry, whether it is the redevelopment agency or the city that pays. The Scouts received the $16.5 million for the property, which had been part of the Firestone Scout Reservation.

“The attorneys are just resolving some issues,” said Dave Tomblin, vice chairman of the Los Angeles Area Boy Scouts of America. “Industry has been a great partner.”

But conservationists said the backtracking is a sign that the deal will not hold up in court.

“It’s an admission by the city that they can’t address the legal issues we’ve raised,” said Carlyle Hall, attorney for the Sierra Club and other environmental groups. “It gives the Scouts an opportunity to do the right thing and sell the property to an agency that will preserve it rather than an agency that will destroy it.”

Hall also sued the agency on environmental grounds. He said it did not conduct the necessary studies to determine if the proposed reservoir would adversely affect the area. The canyon is a key link in a 30-mile-long wildlife corridor that connects the Santa Ana Mountains to the hills above Whittier.

When the Scouts accepted the city’s offer, Industry officials argued that they were only looking into the feasibility of a reservoir and did not know if one would be built.

After a public hearing, the redevelopment agency will officially rescind the original deal Thursday and transfer title to the city.

The lawsuit is expected to be heard in July.