Ahmanson Suits Against City Settled

The last two of 15 lawsuits filed in the debate over the controversial Ahmanson Ranch development have been settled, with Ahmanson Corp. agreeing to drop its suits against the city of Calabasas, officials said Tuesday.

The decision is expected to be announced at a City Council meeting tonight, but an attorney for Calabasas confirmed that the suits brought by Ahmanson against the city are being dropped.

“This is good,” said Katherine Stone, special counsel for Calabasas. “It means the city’s general plan is valid and that [Calabasas] doesn’t have any more lawsuits hanging over [its] head about this project.”

Ahmanson spokeswoman Mary Trigg said the company is “in the process of settling” with the city over the last two related lawsuits--against the Calabasas General Plan and damages related to the extension of Las Virgenes Road.

“The city of Calabasas was willing to work with us . . . [so] we really didn’t see a reason to continue with the lawsuit on their general plan,” Trigg said. “We wanted to have a real feeling of cooperation with the city.”

Ahmanson filed suits against Calabasas after the city adopted a general plan that the developer said included policies intended to block the project and refused to permit an extension of Las Virgenes Road.

In August 1996, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ordered the city to grant a permit to the developer to extend the road, but did not rule on the question of whether the city’s earlier action was intended to block the project, according to Stone.

With several court rulings against the city, Calabasas abandoned its fight over Las Virgenes Road, which is expected to be a main artery to the Ahmanson development.

This summer, city officials agreed to accept $1.3 million from the developer to make improvements to city roads leading to the development. Calabasas officials said they made the agreement with the developers because the city wanted more local control over the road construction.

The Ahmanson Ranch project as planned would include more than 3,000 homes, 400,000 square feet of commercial space, a 300-room hotel and two golf courses.

Trigg said the only obstacle left for the developer is securing land owned by entertainer Bob Hope to be set aside as open space, negotiations for which are continuing.