SIMI'S ROCK FOR THE AGES? : DEVELOPMENT SPURS MOVE TO PROTECT LANDMARK.Byline: Sylvia L. Oliande Daily News Staff Writer The mammoth boulder has stood at the end of Kuehner Drive in the foothills of eastern Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. for hundreds of years and some said it has served as a beacon for American Indians American Indians: see Americas, antiquity and prehistory of the; Natives, Middle American; Natives, North American; Natives, South American. and travelers through the Santa Susana Pass Santa Susana Pass is a mountain pass connecting Simi Valley to the San Fernando Valley. The road used to be an Indian trail, and later a wagon road (a famous part was called Devil's Slide) before the road was paved. . A recent campaign to prevent a developer from shaving off a portion of it to make a wider entryway into his project may finally bring official landmark designation to the rock. ``It is a historical little area there,'' said resident Holly Huff, who has been working with the Ventura County Heritage Board for the designation. ``It's always been in our minds to have it protected, but this project just kind of made it happen when it did.'' Members of the Ventura County Cultural Heritage Board visited the rock in late March to see it up close. Pat Havens, the Simi Valley representative on the regional panel, said she expects that there will be no objection from the board in recommending landmark designation when the issue comes to the panel on April 26. ``It's always been a visual landmark, even in the Indian times for the Chumash,'' said Havens, a local historian. ``And with the earliest roads, as people traveled through mountains from the east, the rock always would have been a very prominent visual point.'' Representatives of the developer, Rocky Peak Rocky Peak is the name of the 3rd highest point in the Santa Susana Mountains, which overlook both Chatsworth and Simi Valley, in Southern California. The peak, which is 2,714 feet above sea level, sits on the Los Angeles County/Ventura County line. LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control and Eller Equities, did not return calls for comment Wednesday. The city of Simi Valley has approved a zone change for the 12.9-acre property and the specific plans for the Rocky Pointe pointe n. In ballet, dancing that is performed on the tips of the toes. [From French pointe (des pieds), point (of the feet), tiptoe; see point.] project is now expected to go before the city's Planning Commission Noun 1. planning commission - a commission delegated to propose plans for future activities and developments commission, committee - a special group delegated to consider some matter; "a committee is a group that keeps minutes and loses hours" - Milton Berle . The protection might be a moot point moot point n. 1) a legal question which no court has decided, so it is still debatable or unsettled. 2) an issue only of academic interest. (See: moot) in terms of this project, because while approving the zone change in January, the City Council made it clear that the rock should be preserved. But Huff said that though the boulder seems to be out of danger, residents of the Susana Knolls, who pass by the rock to get to their homes in unincorporated territory just outside the city, want extra protection against possible future development. Preservation of the boulder is just one way the residents have fought the 26-home development, and they are trying to raise money to buy the land. The law protecting landmarks requires that developers and property owners consult the cultural heritage board when their plans would significantly affect the landmark, said Havens. The developer must then work for at least six months to come up with a plan that would lessen the effects before being allowed to go ahead with the project, she said. If the cultural heritage board favors landmark status on April 26, the resolution would go to the City Council for its final approval. |
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