PLAN TARGETS PROTECTED AREAS ECOLOGICAL REPORT ENVISIONS TWICE AS MUCH OPEN SPACE.

Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer

In a plan that would limit development from much of Los Angeles County's remaining natural areas, the county on Thursday released the first Significant Ecological Area report in 25 years - proposing to more than double environmentally sensitive regions from 240,567 to 576,592 acres.

In general, the plan calls for limiting development in unincorporated mountain and desert areas to one home per 10 acres - a significant reduction, in most areas - to protect wildlife corridors and plant species.

``We consider this a very significant report,'' said George Malone, supervising regional planner for the Department of Regional Planning. ``It puts a lot more of the unincorporated areas into SEAs. A lot of it is concerned with the ability of wildlife to move about.''

Bill Corcoran, conservation coordinator for the Sierra Club, said he had briefly reviewed the plan and believes it could preserve connections between wild areas.

``The buck stops with the county Board of Supervisors as to whether the last remaining wild places in Los Angeles County are going to have true protection,'' he said. ``Because, right now, there is still inappropriate development going on in SEA areas that is robbing future residents of irreplaceable open space.''

Advocates of open-space preservation have long complained that in the past two decades, county decision-makers have continually ignored growth restrictions to favor developers, sparking a building boom that has degraded the natural habitat, clogged roads and packed schools.

A series of community meetings will be held to allow public comment on the plan, including a Feb. 20 meeting from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Valencia Town Center, 24201 West Valencia Blvd., in Santa Clarita, and March 5 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Agoura Hills/Calabasas Community Center, 27040 Malibu Hills Road.

After a 90-day public comment period, the plan will go before the Regional Planning Commission and ultimately the Board of Supervisors for consideration.

The plan can be viewed on the Internet at planning.co.la.ca.us.

In the Santa Monica Mountains, the proposal calls for increasing the significant ecological areas from 21,241 to 99,430 acres, protecting wildlife corridors and wildlife such as the Southern California steelhead trout, bald eagles and western yellow-billed cuckoos.

Because the county supervisors approved the Santa Monica Mountains North Area Plan in October limiting development to one home per 20 acres, the new rules would not have a big impact on development there, but would preserve ecologically important wildlife and plant areas, Malone said.

But he said the plan will have much more significant impact on the Antelope Valley where it calls for limiting development from the current one home per two acres to one home per 10 acres.

``This will impact the Antelope Valley substantially,'' Malone said. ``Two-thirds of the Antelope Valley is unincorporated. But it doesn't impact (Lancaster and Palmdale) where they still have a substantial amount of vacant land they have not developed.''

In the Antelope Valley, the plan calls for nearly tripling the size of the SEA from 130,720 acres to 316,751 acres, protecting joshua tree woodlands, great numbers of migratory birds and the endangered southwestern arroyo toad.

In the Santa Susana Mountains, the plan calls for increasing the SEA from 22,107 to 26,795 acres, protecting wildlife corridors, Braunton's milkvetch, Santa Susana tarplant, the golden eagle and the San Diego black-tailed jackrabbit and desert woodrat.