IT'S LOST THAT LOVIN' FEELING : CURFEW IMPOSED AT TOPANGA LOOKOUT.

Byline: David Bloom Daily News Staff Writer

For decades, the Top of Topanga lookout has been a prime spot for people wanting a panoramic view of the San Fernando Valley and a romantic place to see the Valley lighted up at night.

But now, 15 months after the scenic turnout finally became public property, some Topanga Canyon residents are grousing that they have less access to the popular spot than ever.

That is because the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, which bought the 9-acre parcel for $350,000 in August 1995, closes the lookout at 10 p.m. just to make sure no one sneaks in late to ``watch the submarine races.''

The conservancy has charged the Sheriff's Department with enforcing the rules at the overlook where Topanga Canyon Boulevard crests the Santa Monica Mountains.

``To close it at night is just nuts,'' says Gary Harryman, a longtime Topanga resident and real estate dealer. ``We're destroying the soul of L.A.''

Harryman was so enraged by the closure that he fired off a harsh opinion article this past week in the Topanga Messenger, a feisty community newspaper that serves the canyon area. And in doing so he won the support of the Messenger's editor, Colin Penno.

``It's been enjoyed by folks for a long time, so leave it alone,'' said Penno, who ran a 1920s-era photo with Harryman's piece showing dozens of cars jamming the lookout.

``That spot is an absolutely key view of the entire Valley,'' Penno said. ``The tragedy is our society has become so self-destructive that you can't even sit up there and look out at night.''

The problem with closing down the lookout, Harryman said, is that with so few good view spots available to the public, closing down the publicly owned ones makes it almost impossible to find a legal and lovely lookout.

``This has always been more or less open to the public, even when it was in private hands,'' Harryman said. ``Otherwise, you have to be rich and have a huge house in the hills to have a good view.''

Harryman knows his late-night havens, too. An insomniac, he relied on the Top of Topanga lookout as an almost nightly refuge for months when he was nearing a divorce a few years ago.

``A lot of us don't go to bed at sunset and get up with the chickens.'' Harryman said. ``As long as it's lawful, we should have a right to use it.''

But conservancy Executive Director Joe Edmiston is unapologetic about closing down the lookout in time for the late news.

``Frankly, if you're out to see the sights, that's probably late enough,'' Edmiston said. ``We don't want to encourage the midnight submarine races. If this is a substitute for some Ventura Boulevard motel, we're not in that business.''

Edmiston said people necking in their cars are a prime target for criminals looking to sneak up on them while they're otherwise engaged, particularly in areas like the so-called ``dirt portion'' of Mulholland Drive, where other, more remote lookouts under the conservancy's ownership also are closed at night for security reasons.

``Lovers lanes were probably great in a different era,'' Edmiston said. ``But people get victimized all the time. We really don't want to encourage people on lovers lane.''

Edmiston said he was approached by Sheriff's Department officials about closing down the lookout at night because of ``high narcotics activity,'' though he said they didn't specify what that meant.

Sheriff's Deputy Sven Crongeyer, who is the Lost Hills station's community liaison, said he could not find out who in his department originally asked for the 10 p.m. closing.

While some crime does occur at the lookout, he acknowledged that it hasn't been ``horrific.'' In fact, only seven felony arrests have been made at the site since the start of the year, none since July, Crongeyer said.

The worst of the seven was a runaway juvenile drinking alcohol while sitting in a stolen car, Crongeyer said. Another involved a person in possession of cocaine and marijuana who also gave a false name to police when he was booked into jail. The rest of the felonies involved such things as possession of ``cloned'' cellular phones, driving with suspended driver's licenses or phony registrations.

``Those were the big ones,'' Crongeyer said. ``But we have made some good arrests. Those are all crimes.''

Harryman, who says a friend in the department has told him how few incidents take place at the lookout, scoffs at the notion of a crime problem there.

``These are not crimes that are committed on the site,'' Harryman said of the list of felony arrests at the lookout. ``I just don't think it should be closed for the convenience of the cops.''

Crongeyer said Harryman has a ``legitimate concern'' about the closure.

``It's a beautiful view, and now that's been closed to him and he's upset about that,'' Crongeyer said. ``But we've been asked to police the area, and it is our jurisdiction. If the (conservancy) wants us to re-evaluate our service, we will.''

Harryman and others will get another chance to voice their opinion within a couple of months, Edmiston said.

The conservancy wants to improve the lookout, with paving, landscaping and an interpretive display.

After an environmental review is completed by the end of the year, the conservancy board will hold hearings on the plans and allow the public to say what it wants at the lookout. But don't count on Edmiston to support longer public hours.

``I have no apologies to make,'' Edmiston said. ``Make your plans to come up there before you come to the bar, not afterward.''

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Photo

PHOTO The scenic overlook along Topanga Canyon Boulevard offers a sweeping view of the Valley day or night.

Phil McCarten/Daily News