Conservancy Acquires Key Parcel

At the March meeting of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, the board voted to acquire a 5 acre parcel on the east side of the wildlife corridor just north of the freeway and along the east side of the dirt road that extends from Liberty Canyon Rd.

At a subsequent meeting, in May, they voted to allow an "Investment Appraisal" to be used to acquire the property. Apparently it is the only west side access to a much larger parcel and the county is requiring the larger parcel to have a second access point before it can be developed. 

The Conservancy's acquisition puts a cork in the bottle and stymies a potentially very large development that would access the freeway from the Liberty Canyon interchange. The "Investment Appraisal" means the Conservancy is willing to pay somewhat more for the parcel because of its unique position relative to the wildlife corridor.  The subject property is on the high ground to the right in the above photo. Any development on this parcel would be highly visible throughout the main body of the corridor potentially discouraging animal migration.

This action by the Conservancy serves to protect the already substantial public investment in the wildlife corridor. It may also insure that Liberty Canyon residents will be spared additional traffic impacts from development outside our city.