Suit is filed against Triangle
By Stephanie Bertholdo bertholdo@theacorn.com

The Cornell Preservation Organization and a group of citizens who live in the Cornell area of unincorporated Agoura and Malibou Lake have announced they will file a lawsuit to stop Triangle Ranch, the 61-home development planned for the mountain area south of the 101 Freeway off Kanan and Cornell Roads.

Colleen Holmes, the CPO's president, convened a meeting at the Malibou Mountain Club last Thursday to discuss the possibility of a lawsuit and the need to raise funds to pay for legal services.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved the development July 31.

Sage Community Group, the developer of the property, appealed an earlier denial by the L.A. County Department of Regional Planning and won the right to build the custom home development, but with several conditions including further protection for endangered plant species and "green practices" designed to protect at-risk riparian and wildlife habitat.

The protections don't go far enough said Holmes, who believes the development violates North Area Plan standards and California Environmental Quality Act mandates.

"The North Area Plan is our friend," Holmes said. The plan is a document written to reign in rampant development in the Santa Monica Mountains. Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who has been called the father of the North Area Plan, believes Triangle Ranch is in compliance.

Holmes and others disagree.

While Holmes says the latest rendition of the project is better since a natural knoll has been spared and there is added protection for such endangered plant species as the Lyons pentachaeta and the Santa Monica Mountains dudleya, she believes other aspects of the project do not comply with the North Area Plan.

"Now they're cutting a whole mountain down," Holmes said. She also alleges that the developer's fuel modification plan will adversely affect "blue line" creeks in the area.

A blue line creek is one that flows directly to the ocean, so any degradation of a stream has the potential to further pollute the sea.

Holmes believes that the map of the development approved by the Board of Supervisors is faulty, and some of the homes will be located in a dangerous flood plain. Views from two significant ridgelines are also at risk, she said.

"There's a lot of stuff on this property," Holmes said regarding the damage she believes the environment will suffer if the development is not modified.

Tom Dodson, a founding member of the organization, who now serves as the group's environmental consultant, urged residents to retain their vision of their rural community and "create a community that blends in with what's already here."

Dodson said Triangle Ranch has many flaws, such as the project's inconsistency with the community. He said the environmental impact report is problematic, and traffic impacts have been overlooked.

Dodson believes the traffic studies are faulty because the volume was not measured on weekends, and beach traffic often clogs Kanan Road.

"Those issues were just flat ignored," Dodson said. "People won't be able to get in and out of their own homes."

One Malibou Lake resident said she worries about additional runoff into the lake and hopes legal action will address the problem.

Ideally, Holmes and other likeminded citizens would like to see a public agency purchase the property for permanent open space.

"The goal is to beat this down to zero," said Steve Hess, an Agoura Hills resident who has been fighting the Triangle Ranch development for several years.

Dodson said the community has to decide what they can live with since it is unlikely that any agency will purchase the property as open space.

If the property can't be purchased as open space, Holmes and others want a reduced project- 51 homes at most.

Attorney Penny AlexanderKelley believes the development violates the California Environmental Quality Act.

Kelly told residents she believed they had a "very good case," and that there is no such thing as a bulletproof environmental impact report.

"It would be a shame to let this fall on the floor and not try," Holmes said. "I want to see a sign- 'Welcome to the Santa Monica Mountains.'" A sign, and no homes.

The Cornell Preservation Organization and citizens concerned about the impacts of Triangle Ranch are raising money to pay for the lawsuit. For information on the effort, call Holmes at (818) 5979788.