CALABASAS, Calif. (AP) Gov. Gray Davis, standing on a
wind-swept hill on the edge of Los Angeles, announced Wednesday the
state has put together $150 million needed to acquire the sprawling
Ahmanson Ranch property and keep it as open space.
``I have long believed we should try and develop park land in
urban areas where the people live so they don't have to drive three
or four hundred miles to enjoy some of the magnificent natural
bounty of this state,'' Davis told a throng of celebrities and
public officials.
Opponents of a plan to put thousands of houses on the property
turned out to heap praise on the governor, who is the target of
next week's recall election.
``There has been no greater champion of the environment in
California than Gray Davis,'' said director Rob Reiner, co-chairman
of Rally to Save Ahmanson Ranch.
Others who attended included actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Los
Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, state Attorney General
Bill Lockyer, and commentator Arianna Huffington who until this
week was a candidate to replace Davis. Huffington, who dropped out
of the race Tuesday, said she now opposes the recall.
Washington Mutual acquired the property in 1998 and planned to
build a 3,050-home community in the rolling, oak-dotted hills along
the Ventura-Los Angeles County line.
The open-space plan now goes to the state Public Works Board on
Oct. 10. If approved, the governor's office said escrow is expected
to close on the state's purchase within two months.
Washington Mutual's proposed development would have brought an
additional 8,000 people to the area, resulting in 37,500 more
vehicle trips per day, according to an environmental impact report.
``By preserving these almost 3,000 acres of open space we have
protected our air, we have protected our water, we have protected
the habitats of five endangered species, we have preserved
5,000-year-old Chumash burial grounds,'' said Reiner.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)