Plan to Buy Rocky Pointe Parcel OKd

An 11-acre piece of property that lies just west of the Los Angeles County border and is home to seasonal ponds, endangered plants, rare bird species and dozens of oak trees is a step closer to being spared from development.

Known as Rocky Pointe, the parcel at the foot of Santa Susana Pass in Simi Valley has long been coveted by environmentalists and ranks No. 1 on the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy’s land purchase wish list.

The group’s board approved a three-phase purchase agreement last week. The conservancy has already made a down payment of about a quarter of the $1-million purchase price, and if the group can come up with the rest, the property could then become a nature preserve or park centered around the 60-foot-high, 70-million-year-old rock formation for which it is known, said the conservancy’s chief planner, Paul Edelman.

The conservancy is working with nearby residents who have long eyed the property for preservation. But members need to raise at least $300,000 by July 31 as the second payment to the developer who owns it and then secure the remaining $450,000 over the next several months to complete the purchase, Edelman said.

The big rock became an official Ventura County historic landmark in 1999 after Santa Susana Knolls residents’ efforts saved it from being blasted away to make room for road widening. The road project has since been scrapped, said Kim Hocking, a county planner.

The conservancy will use proceeds from state bond funds to pay for half of the land.

The rest of the money will have to come from local fund-raising or other agencies, Edelman said.

Uri Gati, a Beverly Hills developer who owns the land and had hoped to build 14 single-family homes there, said he wants to sell the property. Gati, who bought the property five years ago, said he has spent more than $1 million on engineering costs and the like in a futile attempt to get his proposed development approved by Simi Valley officials.

“I’d like to make my expenses go away,� he said.

If the $300,000 doesn’t materialize, Edelman said, the conservancy will still buy the two most environmentally sensitive lots on the property, totaling approximately 1.5 acres, to act as a buffer to any housing development.

Sybil Scotford, one of the residents who has led the effort to prevent the land from being paved over, called the news wonderful and said she has already begun lobbying local, state and federal governments for the needed funds.