PIERCE PRESIDENT TRUSTED LEADER SEEKS CONSENSUS ON FUTURE OF CAMPUS FARMLAND PIERCE PRESIDENT WINS LOCAL TRUST.

Byline: Robert Monroe Staff Writer

WOODLAND HILLS - As the new president of Pierce College, Darroch ``Rocky'' Young has been working hard to build a community consensus on what to do with the 240-acre, former campus farm.

After years of conflict over the farm's future, Young's strategy seems to be working.

The Coalition to Save the Farm, a grass-roots organization of residents, gave Young the ultimate vote of confidence: It has announced it will disband because, members said, they trust him to make the right decision.

Young finds it gratifying.

``My whole goal is to try to get to a conclusion by consensus, and I think this is sort of an endorsement of that process,'' said Young during an interview last week. ``I think that's wonderful and I'm very pleased.''

It's the kind of trust Young hopes to foster among all the parties wanting a piece of the farm, a beloved and coveted island of undeveloped land in a sea of urban sprawl.

``I basically felt that because he's shown such positive leadership and shown such regard for stakeholders in the farm's programs, I wanted to give him as clear a field as possible,'' said coalition president Margo Murman, whose group brought together some 800 residents, garden club members and educators.

Young is meeting with agricultural experts, educators and community members, with the goal of issuing a plan by next month on the direction of agricultural education at the college. And that will help determine the future of farm.

Although virtually anyone is free to state his or her case for how to use the land, Young said there are a few givens: Pierce, which began its existence 53 years ago as the Clarence W. Pierce School of Agriculture, will have an agriculture program for the foreseeable future, and if there is any construction of buildings on the farm, it will be minimal.

There are many ideas in contention:

--The coalition is pushing for the farm to sprout crops rather than buildings, as it has for years as part of Pierce's educational mission to teach agriculture.

--The University of California, Davis, one of the country's premier agriculture programs, is excited about creating a transfer program for Pierce College agriculture students and having a hand in agriculture programs on campus. That might include buildings on the parcel.

--Developers propose commercial uses for the land, including golf courses, equestrian and conference centers. The developers behind two golf course proposals rejected last summer are still waiting to be invited back to the table.

--Biotech giants have paid the campus a visit, including Baxter Healthcare, which is looking for a home for a significant chunk of its Southern California operations in the San Fernando Valley.

``Everybody has an idea of what they think is best. I'm just trying to have as much input as possible,'' said Young, now six months into the presidency.

In his quest to be inclusive, Young is careful not to place too much weight on any of the ideas bandied about so far, although he'll discuss a few.

For instance, he does not dismiss the possibility of a golf course being built there - despite its likely requiring the bulk of the farmland - as long as its backers can prove its benefits to education.

Then there's the idea of UC Davis officials to create a demonstration farm on campus, one that would keep agriculture on the minds of an urban population connected to it only by the produce sections of its supermarkets.

``Lots of ag is directly related to what's going on around here,'' Young said. ``There's 10,000 horses in the Santa Monica Mountains so it's clearly related to our equestrian program.''

Mike Campbell, assistant dean at Davis' College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, said the farm is crucial if there is to be any vestige of agriculture in the Valley.

``Urban voters make a lot of decisions for California agriculture,'' said Campbell, a participant in a December meeting of agriculture experts convened by Young. ``Certainly, lots of legislators are from urban areas.''

A further extension of the relationship between the college and the university could see Pierce become a locus for cutting-edge agriculture techniques. Its urban location makes it a singular place to learn about concepts practiced mostly in rural places but to a significant degree in Los Angeles County.

``It's located where a kid can go there on a bike. We've already made the investment in the place so a kid go for peanuts and it's right in the middle of an urban area,'' said Joe Hurley, president of the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation and another participant in the December meeting.

There are other ideas for the land, more mundane but not without merit in Young's opinion, student dormitories and senior housing among them. Golf course developers, who had offered millions to build agriculture-related buildings on campus next to the links, still call their deals win-win propositions.

Young and community members aren't sure, however. ``That case will have to be made,'' he said.

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Photo: (color) Pierce College President Darroch ``Rocky'' Young strolls amid open land on the campus.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer