Effort to stop Triangle Ranch fails
By Stephanie Bertholdo bertholdo@theacorn.com

The much-contested Triangle Ranch custom home development at the base of Ladyface Mountain in the Cornell area of unincorporated Agoura was approved on July 31 by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

A decision by the developer, Sage Community Group, to appeal an earlier denial the L.A. Department of Regional Planning paid off.

Sage has plans to build 61 homes with 12 distinct architectural styles and floor plans. A final environmental impact report must still be vetted before the work can begin.

Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said the project was "vastly better" than the one that was first proposed nearly a decade ago.

"The plan that is before us today is less than half the size of the initial proposal, and represents a development plan that is respectful of the Santa Monica Mountains and compliant with the North Area Plan," Yaroslavsky said.

The property is owned by descendants of original investors, including Bruce Whizin, the son of the late Art Whizin, who owned and operated the Whizin's mall with Vance Moran.

"It only took 50 years," said Whizin, who was 26 years old when the property was purchased by his father and a handful of investors.

Whizin, now 76, said the land was designated for a variety of purposes over the years but that a series of events kept development of the property at bay. The mountain area was once going to feature senior living "towers" for 22,000 residents, complete with a hospital and shopping mall. When President Richard Nixon put a freeze on HUD (Housing and Urban Development) funds, the project was shelved, Whizin said. Plans called for a tram to run from the bottom of Ladyface Mountain to a rotating restaurant on top.

The savings and loan debacle of the 1980s stopped another developer from carrying out plans for a housing project. Later interference came from the North Area Plan, which was designed to maintain the natural splendor of the Santa Monica Mountains by tightening the development standards for Triangle Ranch and other projects.

Although the ranch has been whittled down from 132 homes to 61, Whizin is happy.

"What this really means to me is I won't wake up a couple of nights a week at 3:30 in the morning, which I have been doing for close to 20 years since we've been working our way through this tortuous process," Whizin said.

'Sigh of relief'

"It's just over and everybody has a sigh of relief," said Penny Boehm, director of community affairs for Sage. Boehm said "green practices" will be incorporated into the project to make it more environmentally sensitive.

According to Yaroslavsky, the green practices include "innovative fuel modification standards that will protect valuable riparian and wildlife habitat, while also providing defensible space for fire fighters."

Lyons Pentachaeta and the Santa Monica Mountains Dudleya, two endangered plant species on the property, are now fully protected according to Yaroslavsky, and the retaining walls that once threatened to create visual blight at the base of the mountains, have been eliminated.

Other conditions required of the developers include incorporating water quality protection mechanisms and clustering development on the flattest portion of the site.

Over 90 percent of the property- about 300 acres- - will be preserved as open space. Much of that acreage will be donated to public park agencies along with funding for habitat restoration and property maintenance.

Even the guidelines for landscaping have been tightened. Only local, native species can be planted within privately owned yards if the landscaping will be visible from any public roadway or existing communities.

New trail links will be constructed in the mountains, including what Yaroslavsky called the "missing link of the Simi-to-the-Sea multi-use trail."

Lingering opposition

Not everyone is happy with the Board of Supervisors' decision.

Colleen Holmes, president of the Cornell Preservation Organization, has been fighting Triangle Ranch for years. She and other community members initially wanted just four or five homes on the property, but later softened their demands.

"We felt that the developer missed the mark and did not see that the overall footprint that is degraded currently is where we wanted them to keep their homes, essentially," Holmes said. "Their footprint is larger and has more impact, and they did not consider the impact that their fuel modification buffer zones have and how it makes their footprint even larger.

The project will not encourage more urban development, Triangle Ranch proponents said.

"The process with neighbors was really good. It will be beautiful development that won't be obtrusive," Whizin said.

Holmes has hired an attorney, and another small group of residents living in the Cornell area, including longtime resident Steve Hess, have retained the services of environmental lawer Frank Angel in Santa Monica to review their options.

"We're going to decide in the next 30 days our course of action," Hess said. "We need to completely understand what the facts are before we proceed."

Angel said he's working with Save Open Space and the Center for Biological Diversity to understand the issues. If a lawsuit comes about, it might be based on what Angels sees as violations of the North Area Plan and the California Environmental Quality Act.

Working for Holmes is CEQA attorney Penelope Alexander-Kelly.

According to the developer, a final environmental impact report will be presented to the Board of Supervisors in about a month.The board could impose additional conditions, and opponents will have an additional 30 days to review the issue and file a lawsuit.

The Cornell organization is planning a community meeting in September. For further information, contact Holmes at (818) 597-9788.

"If people want this to happen, it would take a miraculous effort on everyone's part," Holmes said.