Governor Signs Bill Extending Mountains Conservancy to 1995

Gov. George Deukmejian signed legislation Friday extending the life of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, a state agency that buys land for public parks in the Santa Monicas and other mountains surrounding the San Fernando Valley.

The conservancy was scheduled to go out of business in July, 1990. But under the bill, authored by state Sen. Herschel Rosenthal (D-Los Angeles), the agency will continue to operate until 1995.

Since it was established in 1979, the conservancy has acquired 10,000 acres of parklands. Last year, voters approved Proposition 70, a parks and wildlife bond issue that set aside $30 million of its $776 million for the conservancy.

Joseph T. Edmiston, the agency’s executive director, said the signing “means that we’ll be able to go forward with renewed energy and get the job done that Proposition 70 mandated us to do. In the past nine or 10 months, we’ve been trying as hard as we can to get as much land acquired as possible” in anticipation of a possible gubernatorial veto.

Edmiston credited bipartisan support for the legislation’s success, citing in particular a letter sent by U. S. Sen. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.) urging Deukmejian to sign it.

The conservancy is in the process of buying the remaining 575 acres of undeveloped property in the old Malibu Rancho in Malibu Canyon, Edmiston said. The property is valued at $5 million to $6 million.