Ahmanson’s Public Parkland Agreement May Be in Jeopardy : Simi Hills: The developer might need help to purchase 10,000 acres in Runkle Ranch and Corral Canyon.

Ahmanson Land Co. officials, who agreed to convert 10,000 mountainous acres into public parkland before beginning construction of a mini-city in the Simi Hills, said Thursday they may not be able to hold up their end of the bargain.

To purchase Runkle Ranch and Corral Canyon for parkland, and proceed with their development, Ahmanson attorneys said they might need help from the county or parks agencies.

As a first step, they asked for more time to buy the rugged parcels in the Santa Susana Mountains and Malibu Bluffs. But after a three-hour hearing, the Ventura County Planning Commission Thursday rejected Ahmanson’s request for a three-year grace period.

Instead, the commissioners voted 4 to 0 to stick to the deadline as stated in the binding development agreement: Ahmanson must turn over the open space by December, 1995. If the company fails to deliver the parkland, the county will automatically revoke the developer’s permits to build 3,050 dwellings and two golf courses on the Ahmanson Ranch.

Recognizing that they cannot dig a single foundation until they convert Runkle Ranch and Corral Canyon to public parkland, Ahmanson representatives said they will appeal to the Board of Supervisors to give them more time to buy the land.

Breathing room is needed, they said, because a tangle of lawsuits against the project have tied up Ahmanson executives in court for the past two years, with litigation threatening to drag on for many months.

But they acknowledged that they have no idea how much the parcels would cost--or even whether owner Bob Hope intends to sell the parcels.

“The prospect of us acquiring that open space is uncertain,” Ahmanson attorney Allen Camp said. “I hope the properties are available and I hope we can pay fair-market value for them.”

If Hope’s price proves out of reach, Ahmanson officials said they might need help acquiring the land. Hope’s attorney could not be reached for comment.

The county could give Ahmanson’s efforts a boost by moving to seize the parcels through eminent domain, Camp said. Under that scenario, a court would very likely arbitrate a price for the land. Ahmanson would then reimburse the county, Camp said, and begin building the mini-city.

“We’re willing to spend the money when it’s right and smart,” he said.

But parks officials worry that Ahmanson may never deem the time “right and smart” to spend money--at least, not the kind of money that would be required to purchase 4,700 acres of spectacular mountain property.

Instead, they predicted, Ahmanson might seek to offer a deal: a less-dense development in return for a waiver of the open-space requirement. To make up for the lack of parkland, Ahmanson could offer other incentives, said Joseph T. Edmiston, executive director of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.

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“Maybe they’ll come back (to the supervisors) and say, ‘Hey, how would you like three sheriff’s stations, two libraries, an extra overpass and a new flagpole?’ ” Edmiston told the commissioners.

Ahmanson attorney Camp acknowledged that the developer might seek to modify the project if the parkland acquisition proves infeasible.

But he said any changes to the development agreement would require a lengthy series of environmental analyses and public hearings--and could leave the developer vulnerable to more lawsuits.

“Frankly, we would be nuts to do that,” Camp said.

Not convinced that Ahmanson will stick to the original deal, Edmiston proposed trying to lock the developer into buying Runkle and Corral for parkland. He asked Ahmanson to stake its landholdings as collateral for a standby letter of credit, which would guarantee a stream of cash to buy the properties and prevent the developer from crying poor.

But Camp rejected that request as “unwarranted overkill.” He added: “Suggestions (that we give) additional pounds of flesh seem to be inappropriate.”

County Planning Commissioners Robert Muraoka and the Rev. Johnie Carlisle Jr. agreed that the county should not require a letter of credit. After all, they said, the existing development agreement contains a rock-solid guarantee: no parkland, no project.

While they sided with Ahmanson on that point, the four commissioners present rejected the developer’s request for more time to complete the land transfer. They said Ahmanson executives had willingly agreed to the 1995 deadline, even though they knew several groups were planning to file lawsuits against the project.

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“Ahmanson is in the risk business,” Commissioner Sue Boecker said. “The county is not.”

Sixteen people, including supervisorial candidate Trudi Loh, spoke against the developer’s request for an extension of the deadline.

“Financial risk is part of any real-estate development,” said Janice Lee, a Calabasas homeowner opposed to the project. “As Kenny Rogers says, never count your money while you’re sitting at the table.”

By denying Ahmanson’s request for more time, Lee told the commissioners, “The message you’ll send will be: ‘Mr. Developer, honor your obligations.’ ”