Perspective Asked Local Observers to Share Their Observations About the Valley for 1998-’99

When it comes to the environment, 1998 was a typical year in the San Fernando Valley--that is, there was the usual endless parade of expensive, time-consuming legal brouhahas that often solved little.

Surprised to hear this? You shouldn’t be.

The fundamental problem is this: The areas surrounding the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys feature gorgeous landscapes, many of which are rich in biodiversity. The valleys themselves are filled with people who want safe, affordable homes, a decent place to send the kids to school and developers who would like to build all the accouterments.

Something, somewhere has to give--as 1998 proved time and again.

Soka University had, for years, tried to expand its small campus, off Mulholland Drive in the Santa Monica Mountains. Environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, had for years tried to stop Soka for a number of reasons, some legal, some ecological. In April, the verdict was handed down when the California Coastal Commission decided to allow Soka to double its size.

Then, in May, the Los Angeles City Council reversed an earlier decision and decided to allow the development of a golf course in Big Tujunga Wash. Some land was set aside for the endangered California spineflower, but few were thrilled at the prospect of allowing bulldozers into one of the last undeveloped riverbeds in L.A.

Summer ended with the Valley receiving no Level One smog alerts--the most severe warning--as compared to four a decade ago. That’s quite an accomplishment, but it should be noted that smog didn’t decrease significantly in 1998 either.

As was expected, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved the massive Newhall Ranch housing development in late November. Some politicians in neighboring Ventura County immediately pledged to file suit, contending the Newhall Land & Farming Company failed to secure an adequate water source for the 21,000-plus homes it wants to construct.

In what can only be described as a weird twist of fate, Ventura County was simultaneously approving the proposed 3,050-home Ahmanson Ranch. In return, the developer of Ahmanson had agreed to hand over 10,000 acres of land to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. Newhall Ranch, in August, had cut 2,700 homes from its plan and pledged to set aside 4,000 acres as public parkland.

Never before had large-scale developments made so many concessions to the environment--a sure sign of progress when it comes to a place where regional planning has historically been nothing but a oxymoron.

On the other hand, where there is mile after mile of open space today, there could be 70,000 people living in Newhall Ranch in 30 years.

The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area added 38 acres of land from the Tom Steers property that will create a much-needed wilderness corridor between Topanga State Park and Mulholland Gateway Park. It was a fitting addition to help celebrate the 20th anniversary of the national recreation area.

The Army Corps of Engineers, after spending most of the century building dams and destroying salmon fisheries, decided to pursue a feasibility study of modifying or possibly demolishing old Rindge Dam on Malibu Creek to help the endangered southern steelhead trout.

In March, the Department of Water and Power brushed off a City Council directive to lease the dry 1,300-acre Chatsworth Reservoir to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, which would manage the land as a nature preserve. Although DWP would like to develop some of the property, there remains hope that some kind of compromise will be reached to set aside the land.

What’s the environmental legacy of 1998?

The answer may be right over the county line, in Ventura. Measure B, which garnered 63% of the vote on election day, took away the authority of the Ventura County Board of Supervisors to approve new developments on land that had already been zoned for open space or agriculture.

Whether it could work here is hard to say. For half a century, from the Serengeti Plains to the Amazon basin to Southern California, conservationists have been trying to marry economy and ecology. The hope is to make the long-term resources of the land more valuable than short-term exploitation. To pull it off, citizens, government and business need to sit down and, for once, begin to consider the big picture. Just getting all concerned to the table will be a battle, considering the baggage carried by the combatants. But it sure beats another year of the same old thing.