Agency Makes Deal to Preserve Rocky Pointe

An 11-acre Simi Valley parcel that is home to seasonal ponds, endangered plants, oak trees and rare bird species is a step closer to being spared from development.

Known as Rocky Pointe, the property at the foot of the Santa Susana Pass has long been coveted by environmentalists, and is No. 1 on the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy’s land purchase wish list.

The agency’s board last week approved a multi-step purchase agreement that could lead to the property’s becoming a nature preserve or a park. Included on the site is the 60-foot-tall, 70-million-year-old rock formation for which it is known, said the conservancy’s chief planner, Paul Edelman.

The conservancy, which is getting financial help from area residents, needs to raise $300,000 by July 31 as the second payment on the property’s $1-million price. The conservancy has bought part of the land for an undisclosed price. A third payment will complete the purchase, Edelman said.

The conservancy has agreed to pay for half of the land with funds from Proposition 12, passed by voters last March. The rest will have to come from local fund-raising or other agencies, Edelman said.

Uri Gati, a Beverly Hills developer who owns the land, had hoped to build 14 single-family homes, but he said he’s willing to sell the property. For five years he has been unable to get his project approved by the city, Gati said.

“I’d like to make my expenses go away,” he said.

If the $300,000 doesn’t materialize, Edelman said, the conservancy still will eventually own the two most sensitive lots on the property, which could at least act as a buffer to any housing development.

The big rock became a Ventura County landmark in 1999 when Susana Knolls residents mounted a drive to protect it from being blasted away to make room for road widening. The road project was scrapped, but the rock remains a piece of county history, said Kim Hocking, a county planner.

Sybil Scotford, one of the residents who has led the effort to prevent the land’s being paved over, called the news wonderful and said she has begun lobbying local, state and federal officials for the needed funds.