Panel Backs 1,492-Home Development in 3 Canyons : Simi Valley: The Planning Commission OKs construction beneath Whiteface Mountain despite environmental protests.

Despite protests about expected environmental damage, the Simi Valley Planning Commission has voted to recommend City Council approval of a massive residential and recreational development in three vacant canyons north of the city limits.

After a five-hour hearing, the commission voted 5 to 0 to recommend approval of the so-called Whiteface project late Wednesday night. The proposed development backs up to the steep 2,230-foot Whiteface Mountain, a landmark visible throughout the city.

The project is expected to come before the City Council in late January, planning officials said.

Two Los Angeles developers, Lowe Development Corp. and Hermes Development International, want to build 1,492 residential units, three golf courses and 80,000 square feet of retail space on a 2,686-acre site in the hillsides and canyons north of the city.

The majority of the housing units--1,128--would be built in a gated community for senior citizens.

The project site extends from the north end of Erringer Road on the west to the north end of Tapo Canyon Road on the east and includes Sand Canyon, Dry Canyon and Tapo Canyon. Most of the development would occur in Sand Canyon because it is the widest of the three canyons.

The site is included in Simi Valley’s sphere of influence--land that the city can seek to annex. If the proposed project is approved by the City Council, the city would ask the Local Agency Formation Commission to incorporate the land into the city limits.

More than a dozen residents voiced strong opposition to the project during Wednesday’s hearing, saying it would cause irreparable harm to the canyons and hillsides. They pointed out that the environmental impact report on the project found that resulting traffic and air pollution could not be reduced to insignificant levels.

“When I drive over the 118 at Rocky Peak and look out over Simi Valley, it’s a sea of rooftops,” resident Lorraine Jones said. “Everything’s getting paved. I really think it’s essential that we have some open spaces left.”

Paul Edelman, a biological analyst with the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, the state agency that oversees the region’s wildlife corridor, said that the project as now proposed would sever a corridor used by rabbits, deer and bobcats. He said the 1,000 acres that the developers would dedicate as open space would be “dead space” because it would be surrounded by houses. Edelman suggested that the project be redesigned.

Eric Taylor, a representative for both developers, said the open-space island referred to by Edelman would be one-third of a mile wide. The island would actually be surrounded by about 364 houses that would be spread out over about 1,600 acres, he said.

“That’s a lot different than a wall-to-wall subdivision with no holes in it,” he said. “We’ve got a whole lot of holes.”

Jean Ruecker, who lives near the project site, said several houses in her neighborhood, including her own, have been sinking and cracking over the years because they were built on landslide-prone areas.

Ruecker, who has filed a lawsuit against the developer who built her house, demanded that the commission impose stringent guidelines on soil and other geological testing.

Taylor said that the developer has already done extensive testing and will continue to do so to ensure against future subsidence problems. In downplaying the environmental impacts, Taylor said that the project would fill a need for the city’s growing senior citizen population in addition to providing more than 1,000 acres of open space to the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District.

The commission, with the exception of Michael Piper, said it was convinced that the developer could resolve all of the environmental issues to the council’s satisfaction.

Piper, who nonetheless voted for the project, will get to vote on it again in January as a newly appointed council member. He warned the developer that he would approve the project only if environmental issues are indeed resolved.

“Maybe it will be a 4-to-1 vote at the City Council. Who knows?” he said.

Proposed Whiteface Project Developers: Los Angeles-based Lowe Development Corp. and Hermes Development International. Planned: 1,492 residential units and three golf courses on 2,686 acres in three vacant canyons just north of the city limits. These include Sand Canyon, where most of the development would occur, Dry Canyon and Tapo Canyon. Most of the housing units-1,128-would be built in a gated community for senior citizens. Source: Simi Valley Planning Development