RESIDENTS: CONDOS OPEN DOOR TO URBAN SPRAWL LAND NEAR 118 FREEWAY ZONED FOR HIGH-DENSITY TRACT.

Byline: Rachel Uranga Staff Writer

SIMI VALLEY - Fearful that a 90-unit townhouse complex proposed at the edge of the Ronald Reagan Freeway would open the door for future urban sprawl, a group of residents has vowed to fight the project when it comes before the City Council this month.

Hundreds of opponents crammed the usually stolid Planning Commission meeting earlier this week to protest the congestion and pollution they say the complex will spur. Many say the scenario will repeat itself when the council considers the development June 25.

``We are not going to give up,'' said Sybil Scottford, spokeswoman for the Country Open Space Association, a Los Angeles-based advocacy group. Scottford said COSA is appealing to several land trust associations to purchase the property and calling on the city to do further environmental studies on the land.

``There's bobcats and deer out there. It's part of a wildlife corridor ... that connects the Santa Monica Mountains, the Simi Hills and the Santa Susana Mountains,'' she said. ``Developing it would destroy and endanger species, plants and birds.''

The project, to be built by Encino-based Larwin Co., calls for 90 Craftsman- and Mediterranean-style town homes to be built at the foot of a landmark known as Happy Face Hill, named for the dirt happy face on an otherwise grassy hill so large that it dominates the view from the freeway.

A spokesman for Larwin did not return phone calls.

The 10.2-acre slice of property where 30 triplexes would be built sits across from hundreds of acres of open space crisscrossed by horse and foot trails near the Santa Susana Mountains as well as the freeway.

An anonymous letter decrying the project circulated to several homes near the proposed development last week. The letter, signed ``Your neighbor'' and titled ``Save the character of your home'' echoed nearby residents' distress. Larry Fried, one of four of the city's planning commissioners who unanimously gave a preliminary go-ahead, said the letter played on people's worst fears.

``This (project) has nothing to do with urban sprawl. This has been zoned for high-density development for years,'' he said. ``You can't deny it for no reason or just because you want vacant land.''

Under the proposal, eight of the 33 mature oaks trees on the land, as well as four pine trees, would be removed. Six additional oaks would be transplanted to another area.

The developer also agreed to plant 55 more trees, mostly coastal oaks, sycamores and California peppers.

Over the past week, hundreds called City Hall to lodge complaints about the project, creating a flurry unseen in years.

``This struck a chord for people,'' said Rob Bruce, principal planner for the city.

Rachel Uranga, [phone]

rachel.uranga(at)dailynews.com