DEAL NEAR TO BUY SOKA PROPERTY LAND VIEWED AS MOUNTAIN GATEWAY.Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer CALABASAS - Bringing a three-decade saga of controversy and conflict close to a climax, local, state and federal park officials have started hammering out a $35 million deal to buy the historic 588-acre Soka University Soka University (創価大学, Sōka Daigaku) is a private university located in Hachiōji, Tokyo, Japan. The school was founded in 1969 and opened to undergraduate students in 1971 and opened a graduate school in 1975. property. Since the mid-1970s, park agencies have made several unsuccessful attempts to buy the Mulholland Highway  This article or section may be confusing or unclear for some readers.Please [improve the article] or discuss this issue on the talk page. property that once was razor magnate King Gillette's ranch. Officials now view it as a gateway to the Santa Monica Mountains The Santa Monica Mountains are a low transverse range in southern California in the United States. Geography They run for approximately 40 mi (64 km) east-west from the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles to Point Mugu in Ventura County. . ``It's a project that has been 30 years in the making,'' said Rorie Skei, chief deputy director of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy is an agency of the state of California in the United States founded in 1979 and dedicated to the acquisition of land in the Santa Susana and Santa Monica Mountains and the Simi Hills, north and west of Los Angeles, for preservation as open . ``All the wheels have finally started turning.'' The public agencies - if they come up with the funds - have until April 15 to buy the land under a tentative deal they reached in December with the Aliso Viejo-based Buddhist university. The property is highly desired because it's at the heart of the Santa Monica Mountains ecosystem and Malibu Creek Malibu Creek is a year-round stream in western Los Angeles County, California. It drains the southern Simi Hills and the westernmost San Fernando Valley, flows south through the Santa Monica Mountains, and enters Santa Monica Bay at Malibu Lagoon, in Malibu. watershed. Officials say it's a critical component of habitat linkages that allow wildlife to move freely. The property, at the southeast corner of the intersection of Mulholland Highway and Las Virgenes Road, is adjacent to Malibu Creek State Park Coordinates: Malibu Creek State Park is a California state park near Malibu, in Calabasas. It opened to the public in 1980, using property purchased from 20th Century Fox that the studio had owned since 1946 along with adjoining properties. and extends the 15,000-acre state park habitat area more than 1.5 miles eastward toward Topanga State Park Topanga State Park is a California state park located in Los Angeles County. It is located adjacent to the unincorporated community of Topanga, California, within the city of Los Angeles, California. Covering 11,000 acres (45 km²) it is the largest state park within city limits. . Wendy Harder, spokeswoman for Soka University of America SUA's educational philosophy was established by Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, the first president of Soka Gakkai, who had worked as the principal of an elementary school in Japan. Makiguchi published the Value Creating Educational System based on his belief that "the purpose of education is to , said an agreement in principle has been reached, but said she could not comment further until escrow closes. The long-term plan is to turn the property into a headquarters for state and national park agencies in the Santa Monica Mountains, including a nature center, trails and other facilities open to the public. ``We would like to turn it into a visitor center and headquarters for various park agencies,'' said Ruth Coleman, director of California State Parks This is a list of state parks and reserves in the California state park system. Jump to: External links A : Top - 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
``We do this already in the Redwoods state and national parks. It saves money and it's a great way to create efficiencies in an institution. The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy has talked about using the property for a greenhouse and native gardens. We're real excited to pursue this project.'' Los Angeles County's share would be nearly $2 million, with larger amounts from state agencies and less from Agoura Hills and Calabasas. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said it's not a ``done deal'' yet, but he's very optimistic that the various public agencies will purchase the property by spring. ``This is an opportunity to fill in one of the biggest pieces of the Santa Monica Mountains parks mosaic that has been missing,'' Yaroslavsky said. ``It would be a real victory for the environment, the county, state and nation. ``It's nestled in a valley by some of the most beautiful ridgelines in the mountains. It's the old King Camp Gillette estate. The Gillette mansion is still there and the swimming pool is shaped in the form of a razor blade ra·zor·blade also ra·zor blade n. A thin sharp-edged piece of steel that can be fitted into a razor. razor blade n → hoja de afeitar razor blade .'' Yaroslavsky said the county has committed to spend up to $2 million in park bond funds to help make the purchase. Other potential sources include: Calabasas, $850,000; Agoura Hills, $250,000; the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, $10 million; California State Parks, $7.15 million; the National Park Service, $2.5 million; state Wildlife Conservation and Coastal Conservancy boards, $10 million; and Santa Monica Bay Santa Monica Bay is an arm of the Pacific Ocean in southern California, United States. Its boundaries are slightly ambiguous, but it is generally considered to be the part of the Pacific within an imaginary line drawn between Point Dume Restoration Commission, $2.5 million. But former Agoura Hills City Councilman Ernest Dynda, president of the United Organization of Taxpayers, which co-sponsored Proposition 13, said he questions why more funds are not coming from private donors. ``If most of the money is coming from taxpayers, it may be diverted away from more critical needs, like firefighting in the mountains or building access roads into parkland for people to enjoy,'' Dynda said. ``When they buy this land, how much property taxes will be taken off the rolls? We need property taxes to support police and fire. With $35 million, you are talking about $350,000 a year in taxes. If that money is not absorbed by somebody, it has to be picked up by taxpayers and part of that goes to schools, or the schools get shortchanged. ``This whole project needs to be based on how much private money from foundations is going into buying this site.'' The property's most famous resident was King Camp Gillette, founder of the Gillette Razor Co., who bought the property in 1926. ``King Gillette commissioned a famous architect, Wallace Neff, architect of California's Golden Age, to design the mansion and estate,'' Skei said. ``While King Gillette and his wife were touring Europe, the stock market crash hit and shortly after that, King Gillette died of a heart attack.'' Later, Hollywood film director Clarence Brown purchased the property. In 1952, it was sold to the Congregation of Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary The Immaculate Heart of Mary originally The Sacred Heart of Mary is a devotional name used by some Roman Catholics and Anglicans to refer to the physical heart of Mary, the mother of Jesus as a symbol of Mary's interior life, her joys and sorrows, her virtues and hidden , which transferred it to the Dominican Seminary. The Claretian Theological Seminary acquired the land in 1954 and used it as an educational campus known as Claretville. In 1978, the property was bought by the Church Universal and Triumphant The Church Universal and Triumphant is a new religious movement and organization founded by Mark L. Prophet and Elizabeth Clare Prophet. It is one of the branches of The Summit Lighthouse and its church groups can be found in many cities throughout the world. , led by Elizabeth Clare Prophet Elizabeth Clare Prophet (born April 8, 1939) is an American who became the leader of the new religious movement The Summit Lighthouse, an organization encompassing the branches of Church Universal and Triumphant, Summit University, Summit University Press, and Montessori . Soka University acquired the property in 1986. Troy Anderson, (213) 974-8985 troy.anderson(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): map Map: Soka University Daily News |
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