A Unique Opportunity to Buy Parkland : The Mountains Conservancy and the City Should Team Up to Preserve Longridge Canyon

Over the years, many developers drooled over the pristine canyon between Longridge Terrace and Dixie Canyon Avenue in Sherman Oaks. They looked at its stands of oak and walnut trees, its streams and abundant wildlife, and came up with variations on the same lousy theme. They would have cut one ridge, or both, filled the canyon and built as many as 60 homes on it.

Until last year, it looked as though the least intrusive of these sledgehammer ideas might have gone forward. That was a plan to build 19 estate homes in Longridge Canyon, with the remainder of the land to be left as open space. The developer, however, has since declared bankruptcy. No one should be pleased by another example of the weakness of the local economy, but this particular case has presented an opportunity to preserve this land in all of its scenic splendor.

The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, if it can arrange a deal with the city of Los Angeles, wants to buy the 55-acre site as parkland. Such a purchase, however, would depend on the willingness of the city to maintain the land. Money is available for this through Proposition A, which created the Los Angeles County regional park and open space assessment district.

The conservancy would use some of its Proposition A funds to acquire the land, and the city could use its share of those funds to maintain it. The matter is complicated by bankruptcy proceedings and the fact that the developer owes money to more than 100 creditors.

The attempt to purchase the canyon for parkland should be made, however, because it would connect Dixie Canyon Park with Mulholland Drive. That would allow unbroken public access to Franklin Canyon and the Los Angeles Basin. It would also preserve an important wildlife corridor for deer, coyotes, birds and the occasional ranging bobcat. That’s a worthy goal for the conservancy and the city as a whole.