Ahmanson Ranch Sale Is Completed

The state Friday closed its deal to purchase the 2,983-acre Ahmanson Ranch, formally ending a 17-year battle by conservationists to keep the rolling, oak-studded property from being developed.

The $150-million transaction between Washington Mutual Bank and the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority transforms the pristine expanse at the southeast edge of Ventura County into parkland.

No park purchase in Ventura or Los Angeles counties has been larger in either land area or cost, according to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, which will administer the ranch.

“We truly appreciate Washington Mutual’s willingness to sell the ranch to create a park, and so will millions of present and future residents,” said Jerome C. Daniel, the conservancy’s chairman.

The Seattle-based bank had hoped to build a $2-billion community with 3,050 homes and two golf courses. In a statement Friday, bank officials expressed satisfaction at the deal helping “to preserve the land in perpetuity for the people of California while simultaneously providing a satisfactory financial outcome for Washington Mutual.”

The proposed development was vigorously opposed by diverse groups. San Fernando Valley residents feared that traffic would overflow from the ranch onto already crowded Valley roads.

Environmental activists warned that it would taint unspoiled open space with suburban sprawl and destroy the habitat that sheltered a number of rare and endangered species.

A few ranch trails are to be opened for public use in about two weeks, according to the conservancy.