BALANCING CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT ESSENTIAL TO EFFECTIVELY MANAGE THE GROWTH EXPECTED IN OUR REGION.

Byline: Lenora Kirby

ALTHOUGH many now accept it as fact that land conservation and growth are mutually exclusive concepts, a development in Ventura County demonstrates how a project can be designed and planned to be environmentally progressive while still meeting Southern California's growing housing needs.

Employing the method outlined in environmental planner Ian McHarg's work ``Design with Nature,'' Ahmanson Ranch has conducted exhaustive environmental and scientific surveys to document and analyze every potential environmental impact from the proposed new community. Based on that analysis, a critical decision was made to concentrate building in one corner of the property adjacent to the existing development, to minimize environmental impacts and protect as much untouched open space as possible.

Clustering the development in a relatively small area enabled the plan to preserve more open space and create a pedestrian-friendly, less automobile-reliant community. Future residents will be able to walk or bike to most stores and destinations within the ranch, or ride electric shuttles into Warner Center in Woodland Hills.

Going far beyond the comprehensive reviews required by law, the Ahmanson Ranch also conducted studies of other specific environmental issues. For example, facing concerns that pollutants may have migrated to the ranch from the Rocketdyne site 3 miles away, the company retained a highly respected environmental consulting firm to test the soil and water, which were found to be safe.

Other scientific specialists working on the Ahmanson Ranch discovered two rare species, the California red-legged frog and the San Fernando Valley spineflower, which was thought to be extinct. As a result, the company changed grading and development plans to create a protective buffer zone preserving the frogs' and spineflowers' habitats, and began working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to develop plans for their permanent protection. In addition, thousands of spineflower seeds were collected by Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden for use in conservation programs and future scientific research.

Have these efforts added to the cost of the project? Certainly. The developer already has spent $30 million to help protect almost 10,000 acres of natural open space as parkland, a permanent wildlife corridor extending from the Simi Hills to the Pacific Ocean. It will spend millions more on restoration of native grassland and oak woodlands, erosion control, sedimentation basins and recovery systems; to trap water runoff and prevent pollutants such as residential lawn fertilizers and pesticides from contaminating the watershed.

The new community has been designed to conserve precious water resources and reduce waste. An on-site water reclamation system will decrease the amount of water required for irrigation by half, compared to conventional irrigation systems. Moreover, the company will employ the best management practices in golf course supervision, landscaping and drainage to ensure that runoff from the ranch's two golf courses will not harm creeks, wetlands or other habitat.

As a result, the volume and quality of water runoff after development is expected to remain the same as it is now, and to have no significant impact on the Malibu Creek watershed (already overburdened by unmitigated, existing development), or sensitive downstream species such as the steelhead trout and tidewater goby.

Finally, the Las Virgenes Institute for Resource Management has been established to safeguard the area's natural resources on behalf of the entire region. As a nonprofit corporation governed by a highly respected, independent board of directors, the institute will monitor the development in the years ahead to ensure compliance with the Resource Management Plan. This plan, unprecedented in depth and scope, has made available for review by every jurisdiction, agency, adjacent community and activist group concerned with the Ahmanson Ranch, and will be the road map for preserving, protecting and enhancing the local environment.

Balancing our needs for housing and commercial services with our need to protect the environment and natural resources may be difficult, but it can be done. It is essential that we strike that balance, and effectively manage the growth expected in our region in the coming years. Ahmanson Ranch will serve as a successful working model of how to achieve that goal, and as a new paradigm for the integration of conservation and development in Southern California.