By Erica Dement
Staff Writer
The scenic drive down Pacific Coast Highway is a perk of living in Malibu, but there are those times when traffic makes it a lot more like a chore. Especially heading to Santa Monica in the morning or through the canyon in the afternoon.
That traffic is one of the major issues in a searing battle between supporters and opponents of Washington Mutual Bank’s Ahmanson Ranch project.
Ahmanson Ranch proponents say that the pedestrian-friendly community will co-exist in harmony with the natural open space that surrounds it. But many of the massive development’s neighbors aren’t convinced.
The project would create a mixed residential and commercial community on 2,800 acres of open space located on the southeastern corner of Ventura County. The construction of the ranch would affect not only the land it is built on and the open space surrounding it, but also the traffic flow and eco-system of surrounding communities.
This project has the potential to impact the cities of Malibu, Thousand Oaks, Calabasas, Agoura Hills and Los Angeles. Both opponents and supporters of the ranch have fiercely promoted their differing points of view about the true impact of the project. Each side has something to say about the project’s effect on the Malibu Creek watershed, the eco-system, traffic, open space, endangered species and affordable housing.
In November, the city of Malibu joined forces with Thousand Oaks, Calabasas, Agoura Hills, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, environmental organizations, homeowners and elected officials to form Rally to Save Ahmanson Ranch, a non-profit coalition of project opponents.
The coalition has the political support of Congressman Brad Sherman, State State Senator Sheila Kuehl, Assemblymember Fran Pavley and Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. Actor Martin Sheen, also an opponent of the project, will be featured in a series of radio advertisements criticizing its environmental impact.
On Feb. 19, Ventura County released a Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (SEIR), which studied the impact of the project on the endangered California Red-Legged Frog and the San Fernando Valley Spineflower, thought to be extinct since 1929 but recently discovered on the land.
The report found that all unavoidable adverse impacts were all dealt with in the original 1992 Final Environmental Impact Report. Air quality during construction operations, the effects of the project on the endangered Spineflower and Frog, loss of wetlands and riparian habitat, and impacts on Plummer’s mariposa lily were all significant but mitigable.
Phase A of the project was given the thumbs up by the four-inch thick SEIR, but Rally to Save Ahmanson Ranch believes that the report skirted the major traffic and far-reaching environmental impact issues.
“I’m a biologist and it is absurd that they are going to build around it and the frog will survive,” said Mary Risevrock, chairperson for Save Open Space, an environmental organization that opposes the project.
The site is located at the headwaters of the East Las Virgines fork of Malibu Creek. Drainage into the Malibu Creek watershed would affect downstream environments. Downstream from the site are Malibu Surfrider Beach, Malibu Creek State Park and Malibu Lagoon, which is Los Angeles County’s only brackish wetland and home to the endangered southern steelhead trout and tidewater goby.
Opponents say that the SEIR does not look at the impact on surrounding communities.
“In the first place they never studied it properly,” said Cynthia Leak, vice president of Ventura Environmental Coalition, a supporter of Rally to Save Ahmanson Ranch. Planners have estimated the project’s impact on a Final Environmental Impact Report from 1992 and traffic numbers that are more than 20 years old.
“I care about the environment,” said Leak. “It’s just not a good thing.”
Opponents emphasize that the Malibu Creek and Lagoon are already polluted with nutrients and fecal bacteria from urban runoff, broken septic systems, horse ranches and discharges from the Tapia Water Reclamation Facility. Adding the waste of a 10,000-person community would only magnify the pollution problem.
Construction will require mass grading, which will move 40-45 million cubic yards of soil and add 20 tons of new air pollutants to the region, opponents say. Native grasslands and 1,300 oak trees will be removed.
“We already have the worst smog in the nation,” Risevrock said.
On the other hand, proponents rebut that the ranch protects the vitality of the endangered Red Legged Frog and San Fernando Valley Spine Flower in accordance to the guidelines set by the SEIR. The project also has a water management and reclamation program designed to reduce irrigation water consumption and solid waste production to 50 percent of what a conventional residential development its size would generate.
The project will establish the Las Virgines Institute to monitor natural resource preservation programs, say proponents. Nearly 5,700 new oak trees will be planted establishing an oak nursery and restoration project.
Washington Mutual is investing 12,749 acres of private land to the entire project. Of the total acreage for the project, 82.5 percent will be dedicated as open space for the public.
Environmental impact concerns are not the only problem that the project proponents face. This new city will increase traffic, say opponents. The proposed community borders the cities of Calabasas and Los Angeles on the Ventura County side. New residents would increase traffic on PCH and 101 Freeway, which opponents claim is already operating beyond maximum capacity.
An estimated 45,000 additional trips will be the result of Ahmanson Ranch. Opponents want a new traffic study to replace the 22-year-old study that planners are currently using to assess the traffic impact.
“This is the wrong way to plan,” said Ken Kearsley, Malibu city councilman. The project would affect PCH and the 101 Freeway, which are the arteries that connect Malibu to the rest of the region. Traffic frustration for Malibu residents, Pepperdine commuters and beach goers would all be affect by the Ahmanson community.
“Malibu is going to change and we have to have a hand in what it will look like in 20 years,” said Kearsley, who wants the project to prepare for potential problems that may occur in the future. Without cooperation and compromise between the planners and opponents of the project, unfortunately, the courts will decide the restrictions of the project, Kearsley said.
Developers argue that the project is designed to create a pedestrian-friendly community. All of the 3,050 residential units will be within a 10-minute walk or bike ride from shops or offices. The development will include two public schools, a police station, a fire station, town hall and a library. A comprehensive transportation system will be developed to minimize automobile use within the community, proponents say.
Proponents also point to the economic benefits, which will benefit the surrounding region. The project will pump $2 billion in construction and development expenditures into the economy. Seventeen hundred permanent jobs will be created from the development of retail shops, a lodge, fire station, police station, schools, town hall, library and golf course. Los Angeles and Ventura counties will benefit from $20 million in sales tax revenues. The project will also provide for a housing shortage in an area that has seen recent job growth, say proponents
Despite the economic stimulus, opponents say that the project does provide enough affordable housing. Twenty-two percent of the residences will be considered affordable housing. Opponents argue that the 671 affordable units will not provide enough housing for the teachers, firemen and policemen who need it. The golf course workers, retail owners and employees of the jobs created by the community, will dominate the affordable units, opponents say.
Perhaps the biggest concern for opponents is that the project is more far-reaching than proponents realize.
“We’ve learned it is the busiest park in the nation,” said Risevrock, who has been dedicated to opposing the project from the beginning. “Thirty-two million people visit it each year.” Risevrock says that the land is sacred to so many people in the region. Filmmakers are moving to Canada because there is so little wild open space to shoot, Risevrock said. The Santa Monica Mountains are a hot spot for filmmakers in the area.
“It’s like a treasure,” said Risevrock. “To be doing this to the people of California is a Washington Mutual is investing 12,749 acres of private land to the entire project. Of the total acreage for the project, 82.5 percent is dedicated as open space for the public.
Environmental impact concerns are not the only problem that the project proponents face. This new city will increase traffic, say opponents. The proposed community borders the cities of Calabasas and Los Angeles on the Ventura County side. New residents would increase traffic on PCH and 101 Freeway, which opponents claim is already operating beyond maximum capacity.
An estimated 45,000 additional trips will be the result of Ahmanson Ranch. Opponents want a new traffic study to replace the 22-year-old study that planners are currently using to assess the traffic impact.
“Malibu is going to change and we have to have a hand in what it will look like in 20 years,” said Ken Kearsley, Malibu city councilman. who wants the project to prepare for potential problems that may occur in the future. Without cooperation and compromise between the planners and opponents of the project, unfortunately, the courts will decide the restrictions of the project, Kearsley said.
Developers argue that the project is designed to create a pedestrian-friendly community.
All of the 3,050 residential units will be within a 10-minute walk or bike ride from shops or offices. The development will include two public schools, a police station, a fire station, town hall and a library. A comprehensive transportation system will be developed to minimize automobile use within the community, proponents say.
Proponents also point to the economic benefits, which will benefit the surrounding region. The project will pump $2 billion in construction and development into the economy.
Seventeen hundred permanent jobs will be created from the development of retail shops, a lodge, fire station, police station, schools, town hall, library and golf course. Los Angeles and Ventura counties will benefit from $20 million in sales tax revenues. The project will also provide for a housing shortage in an area that has seen recent job growth, say proponents
Despite the economic stimulus, opponents say that the project does provide enough affordable housing. Twenty-two percent of the residences will be considered affordable housing. Opponents argue that the 671 affordable units will not provide enough housing for the teachers, firemen and policemen who need it. The golf course workers, retail owners and employees of the jobs created by the community, will dominate the affordable units, opponents say.
Perhaps the biggest concern for opponents is that the project is more far-reaching than proponents realize.
“We’ve learned the area is one of the busiest park in the nation,” said Risevrock, who has been dedicated to opposing the project from the beginning. “Thirty-two million people visit it each year.” Risevrock says that the land is sacred to so many people in the region. Filmmakers are moving to Canada because there is so little wild open space to shoot, Risevrock said. The Santa Monica Mountains are a hot spot for filmmakers in the area.
“It’s like a treasure,” said Risevrock. “To be doing this to the people of California is a crime.”
March 21, 2002