LAND-USE BATTLE SHAPES UP NEAR 101 FREEWAY.

Byline: Cecilia Chan Daily News Staff Writer

A draft plan that would regulate the use of 32.2 square miles of land along the Ventura Freeway is aimed at preserving the natural environment by limiting the number of structures that can be built.

The Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission will take public testimony Wednesday on the plan, which has upset property owners but has won supporters who say it could better guide growth.

``I think (the plan) reflects nearly 20 years' experience in dealing with the interface of development with the natural environment,'' said Lee Stark, a Los Angeles County regional planner and project manager.

``I think there is a clear emphasis now on the need to acknowledge the overriding importance of the natural environment in the Santa Monica Mountains area,'' Stark said.

``We are reflecting the fact that most of the undeveloped and undivided areas in the unincorporated area of the county that this plan covers is not appropriate for higher-density development, so we are revising the land-use policy map, as well as other written policies to reflect this.''

The Santa Monica Mountains North Area Plan covers unincorporated land that stretches from the Ventura County line to the Los Angeles city limits. The land surrounds Calabasas, Agoura Hills, Westlake Village and Hidden Hills, and is home to about 5,000 people, according to the report.

The plan would replace the Malibu/Santa Monica Mountains Interim Area Plan that was adopted in 1981 and meant to stay in effect for only one year.

But among the hundreds of property owners, 40 have asked the county to review their cases. Four have been forwarded to the Planning Commission for consideration.

``There are some reductions in density, in allowable density, so property owners feel their rights to be developers will definitely be impacted,'' said county planner Ellen Fitzgerald.

But some local environmental groups said the plan could become a better blueprint for development than the previous one, which had often been changed to allow more building.

``What is important about the plan is the guiding principle to let the land dictate the use,'' said Melanie Beck, planner with the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. ``That was the principle of the previous interim area plan that was not followed over and over in the 1980s by L.A. County.''

``They allowed a much higher density than what was proscribed in the plan and allowed earth movement to accommodate that density. And they removed an unnecessary amount of oak trees and channelized streams that should not have been channelized,'' she said.

Local cities have been watching the plan that covers county land next door to their communities along the edge of the Los Angeles County line.

Calabasas officials, for example, were concerned about the potential traffic that could come with increased development.

``Our biggest concern was regional traffic that impacts the city of Calabasas,'' said Mark Persico, director of planning and building services. ``We want to make sure those impacts are mitigated through additional county road funds and we don't receive all the traffic from Ventura County going to downtown L.A.''

Overall, he said, the city had just technical quibbles with the document.

``In general, we think the plan is a good step forward for the county to take,'' Persico said. ``It's a big improvement over what the county has had.''

Along with building limits, other changes to the plan include deletions of proposed roads and highways. For instance, Thousand Oaks Boulevard is proposed as a highway but would be deleted from the county's master plan on highways, he said.

County planners expect the hearing to continue a few more months before the Planning Commission takes action. After that, the plan will go to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for consideration.

Beck sBaid she hopes there is an ongoing advisory committee to provide the ``check and balance against the county'' to prevent excessive building.

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MAP: VENTURA COUNTY/LOS ANGELES COUNTY