COUNTY PROPOSAL GUARDS RIDGES LANDOWNERS CALL PLAN TOO RESTRICTIVE.

Byline: Kerry Cavanaugh Staff Writer

Hoping to limit new buildings along the spine of the Santa Monica Mountains, Los Angeles County has drafted a regulation that would make it harder for landowners to grade the hilltops and develop homes on ridgelines.

Property owners and real estate interests say the county is essentially shutting down construction in the mountains between the Ventura Freeway and Malibu, robbing people of the opportunity to build their dream homes and reap the value of their land.

But county planners and proponents say the rules are needed to protect the natural, untouched look that makes the Santa Monica Mountains so special.

``We've made a decision as a society and a county that ridgelines deserve to be protected,'' said Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, whose district includes the area.

``Who likes to drive through a canyon and see an unmarred ridgeline defiled by a huge house on a pad that had to be created by cutting 50 feet off the top of a mountain?''

The county's Regional Planning Commission is considering the proposal and will finish receiving public comments at its meeting on Wednesday. The Board of Supervisors will take up the measure after receiving a Planning Commission recommendation.

Part of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreational Area, the green, brush-covered mountains between Topanga Canyon and the Ventura County line are a 33-square mile patchwork, with 70 percent private land interspersed with public parkland.

Beautiful with jagged ridgelines and giant rock formations, the area has always been too remote and steep for large subdivisions but can accommodate single-family homes and small subdivisions in the canyons, hillsides and ridgelines.

In some cases, the homes, driveways and required brush clearance create a wide brown bald spot, a permanent scar on the otherwise green mountains.

The proposed rule aims to prevent or lessen those scars. Homeowners and developers would complete a conditional-use permit and public hearing for any project that moves more than 5,000 cubic yards of soil or grades an area more than 15,000 square feet. The tops of buildings must be hidden 50 feet from ridgelines.

The rule wouldn't stop someone from building a home on a ridgeline, but it would make it extremely difficult, Yaroslavsky said. And it wouldn't prevent people from moving massive amounts of soil to build, but it could require them to scale back their proposal to get approval.

Property owners said the rule would double the cost of home building. It would force people off the ridgeline and onto the steep hillsides where homes could be unstable.

``They won't allow you to build on the most economical or safe area of your property,'' said Gene Ball, a 50-year resident of the Santa Monica Mountains. ``This is to stop any more building, period.''

If development stops, Ball continued, middle-income people will be priced out of the mountains just like in Agoura Hills and Calabasas, where developers are virtually barred from building on ridgelines, Ball said. Others say the county is taking a no-growth stance.

``If there are homes that are too visible, then impose design, landscape, and shielding guidelines ... but don't just say you can't build,'' said Ann Hoffman, president of the Land Use Preservation Defense Fund.

Ordinance proponents argue there is no hiding development in an otherwise natural area.

``These kinds of projects do forever change the landscape,'' said Melanie Beck, outdoor recreation planner with the National Park Service. The service oversees the public lands in the mountains.

``People definitely value an uninterrupted natural landscape. It's the difference of feeling like you're in the backcountry of Yosemite or in Los Angeles.''

Kerry Cavanaugh, [phone]

kerry.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

map

Map:

HILLSIDE & RIDGELINE DEVELOPMENT TARGETED

SOURCE: Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority

Daily News