WOODLAND HILLS : Warner Ridge Dirt Transfer Is Delayed

The controversial transfer of 425,000 cubic yards of topsoil from the Warner Ridge development to the Pierce College farm has been postponed until after Christmas, due to lengthy loan negotiations, a partner in the development company said Monday.

“The complexity of this transaction has created a blizzard of documentation, which we’re sorting out,” said Jack Spound of Warner Ridge Partners.

“Obviously, we’re as anxious as anyone to get this started. We will be going full bore on construction on Dec. 27.”

Preparations for the project, including the removal of some topsoil on Warner Ridge and the extermination of rodents, began in October.

The soil transfer--the first phase of a $150-million office tower and condominium project at Warner Ridge--was scheduled to start Nov. 18 after a judge rejected attempts by environmentalists and others to block it.

A Los Angeles Superior Court hearing on a lawsuit against the dirt fill project is scheduled for Jan. 28.

The developer’s deal with 20th Century Insurance Co. to lease the first three towers built at Warner Ridge should remain intact despite the delay, Spound said.

The insurance company, which employs 2,100, originally threatened to look elsewhere if construction did not begin by Dec. 15.

A spokesman for 20th Century declined comment on the Warner Ridge deal.

Meanwhile, Pierce College, which is counting on more than $1 million in cash from the deal, is offering a full curriculum next spring in anticipation of receiving the money during late December, said President Lowell Erickson.

“We are slightly uneasy about the security of our funding, but we had to go ahead and assume the money is going to come through,” Erickson said. “Without the funds from the dirt deal, we would have to cancel a third of our classes in the spring.”

Moving the dirt--about 33,000 truckloads--from Warner Ridge to the Pierce College farm is expected to take about 10 weeks.