FOR LACK OF PERMIT, MASSIVE HOUSING PROJECT HAMSTRUNG; AHMANSON PLAN HITS SNAG OVER TREE REMOVAL.

Byline: Douglas Haberman and Lisa Mascaro Daily News Staff Writers

The billion-dollar Ahmanson Ranch project hit a roadblock Wednesday when the Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission postponed until October a vote on a small but key permit to remove trees.

The development sits in Ventura County but would be entered through Los Angeles County along a road extension plan that requires the removal of nine oak trees.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Woodland Hills and Los Angeles Councilwoman Laura Chick pushed for the delay.

``This project, in this form, should occur after hell freezes over,'' Sherman said in a telephone interview from Washington, D.C. ``You cannot find any support for this project in any of the surrounding communities.''

A spokesman for Washington Mutual, the parent company developing the 3,050-master planned community, called the action a setback but not one that would derail the project.

``It is a disappointment for us. We would have liked the issue to have been resolved today,'' said Washington Mutual spokesman Adrian Rodriguez. ``At most, this is a temporary setback.''

Washington Mutual officials said they do not intend to alter the road extension.

However, if Los Angeles officials require substantial changes, the developer could be required to seek an amendment to the project's specific plan. It could require more traffic studies or environmental analysis and be subject to approval by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors, said Ventura County Senior Planner Dennis Hawkins.

``If L.A. County required a fairly large change to that road, we would require an amendment to the specific plan,'' he said.

On Wednesday, the commission voted 4-1 to postpone the hearing until Oct. 13, after the developer submits tract maps to Ventura County for approval, which is expected this spring or summer.

``It's logical to wait until Ventura County has done what they're going to do,'' said commission Chairwoman Esther Feldman.

The development of more than 3,000 homes and a 300-room hotel, two schools, four parks and two golf courses is entirely in Ventura County. All traffic entering and exiting will be going through Los Angeles County.

The county Planning Commission was conducting a hearing, begun in December, on the developer's request for a permit to remove nine oak trees in the way of a proposed extension of Thousand Oaks Boulevard.

The four-lane road would be extended less than 2,000 feet to the Ventura-Los Angeles county line, providing a key southern entrance to the proposed community near an area just north of Calabasas.

Environmentalists and residents from area associations have been fighting the project on various fronts, including the issue of the road that would eventually wind through the proposed community and connect with Victory Boulevard on the east portion of the property, bringing thousands of vehicles a day into their communities.

Gordon Murley, president of the San Fernando Valley Federation, said the commission was ``smart'' to hold off on the oak tree removal permit until it sees the exact plan of the road.

``I think it bodes well,'' said Murley. ``It isn't acceptable to dump all of this traffic onto Victory (Boulevard).''

In another development, Washington Mutual on Tuesday rejected Sherman's request to donate the land for open space, he said.

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Map: Ahmanson Ranch access road plan