Ahmanson Ranch open
space transfer ruled okay
By John Loesing
Acorn Staff Writer

A California Appeals Court has ruled that no further environmental review is needed to support the Ahmanson Ranch transfer of a 2,650 acres of open space in upper Las Virgenes Canyon.

The Second District Court of Appeal upheld a 1999 Ventura County Superior Court ruling that said county officials acted properly when they changed some of the parcel lines pertaining to the open space transfer.

Save Open Space (SOS), the Agoura Hills organization fighting Ahmanson’s proposed 3,050-home development, had filed a lawsuit arguing that Ventura County needed to provide a supplemental environmental impact report because the original 1992 EIR became outdated. The Court of Appeal determined no supplemental EIR is required.

SOS lost a similar case earlier in Los Angeles County on the open space issue. The suit was filed against the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, the two open space recipients. SOS hinted the L.A. County case might go to the California Supreme Court.

Located on the eastern Ventura County border near Calabasas, Ahmanson Ranch would include 400,000 square feet of retail and commercial space, a 300-room hotel, golf courses, schools and homes. The developers have requested tract map approval so they can begin grading and construction on the first phase of the project.

In the Ventura County appeal, SOS charged that Ahmanson did not complete the transfer of the Las Virgenes open space into public parkland because it retained water rights on the property for its own benefit. SOS feared Ahmanson would build more wells in addition to Ahmanson No. 1, a well that is already in existence, and use the water for its golf courses and other facilities.

Attorneys for Washington Mutual, Ahmanson’s parent company, said the water rights issue did not trigger the need for a new environmental study.

"The appellate court ruling affirms our strongly held conviction that the Ahmanson Ranch is an environmentally responsible development that will help meet the critical housing needs of the region," said Guy Gniadek, president of Ahmanson Land Company.

"We have been deeply disappointed that opponents to the project have focused this litigation on features of the project that would provide open space for the public," Gniadek said.

Attorneys for SOS could not be reached.

The Ahmanson Ranch development agreement has dedicated almost 10,000 acres of Santa Monica Mountain wildland into permanent open space.

Ventura County initiated a new environmental study following the discovery of two rare species at the Ahmanson Ranch site, the San Fernando Valley spineflower and the California red-legged frog. That report is expected to completed and released to the public later this summer.