Universal skepticism on Ahmanson Ranch benefits. (The Secession Question: A Special Report).

Despite heavy lobbying by the Ahmanson Land Co. to get candidates for a Valley city council and mayor to support its plans for 3,000-plus homes and a mini-city at the west end of the San Fernando Valley, a significant number of candidates say they are against the project.

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It's not certain how much influence a new Valley government would have over the development, but it's clear there is great concern among many would-be city leaders about its impact on the environment and traffic along the 101 Corridor and city streets.

Much of the actual construction of the project would likely begin sometime in 2003 just before or as a new city incorporates on July 1, provided voters approve secession Nov. 5.

But, if there is a new city and its electorate has as much influence over the development's progress as the city of Los Angeles has so far, Ahmanson could face several more hurdles before it gets its project off the ground.

The Los Angeles City Council has fought to stall the project, called for a new environmental report to include traffic mitigation plans and rejected Ahmanson's request to extend Victory Boulevard beyond the city's border to allow access for construction crews and future residents.

It's likely Ahmanson representatives had this very thought in mind when they wrote each of the candidates in August after they had also received a survey from Rally to Save Ahmanson Ranch, a group opposed to the project. The letter called on each of the candidates to review a "fact-fiction" checklist on the project and write the editors of newspapers pledging their support.

But Ahmanson's attempts appear to have had little effect.

"Irresponsible development like the Ahmanson Ranch project must be discouraged and traffic mitigation plans are a necessity," said Johnny Walker, a candidate both for mayor and the Eighth District council seat.

A hearing by the Ventura County Environmental Report Review Committee planned for Oct. 9 was delayed until Oct. 14 because defects were found on the compact discs containing a 4,000-page environmental study on the project. That study was ordered after the discovery of two endangered species on the Ahmanson Ranch: the San Fernando Valley spine flower and red-legged frog.

Ongoing efforts to force Ahmanson to conduct a traffic mitigation study have so far been unsuccessful. Once the latest report is approved it goes to the Ventura County Planning Commission, then the Board of Supervisors for a final vote.

Ahmanson spokesman Tim McGarry declined to comment on the results of the Business Journal survey.

Ahmanson, a subsidiary of Seattle-based Washington Mutual, has been embroiled in a bitter battle with environmentalists and West Valley residents opposed to the project. The cause has been significantly bolstered by the star power of actor/director Rob Reiner, Martin Sheen and others in the last few years. Reiner and Sheen have become poster children for Rally to Save Ahmanson Ranch and have helped shine a spotlight on the debate by attracting media attention from across the country.

In his letter to the candidates, Ahmanson President Guy Gniadek claims Rally to Save Ahmanson has "been conducting a troubling public relations campaign" against his company. He asked the candidates to consider what he called "inaccuracies" in the opposition's message and touts the project as a sensible way to solve the current housing shortage.

But many of the candidates who responded to the Business Journal survey say the project offers no real solution to the housing shortage because it would be affordable only to middleto upper middle-class wage earners.

""The promises of affordable housing are fallacious since most units would be luxury style," said Tamara Trank, a candidate in the First District.

Ahmanson, however, maintains that 774 of the 3,050 homes to be built, about 25 percent, would be reserved for very low, low and moderate income earners. The company also says the lower-priced homes would be dispersed throughout the "community" and that mortgage or rental payments would not exceed 30 percent of the owner/renter's gross income, provided they meet federal guidelines that define low to moderate income status.

In his survey response, Walker suggested that the Ahmanson Ranch property be made into a park honoring Bob Hope and the work he has done with the USO, as well as a war memorial that "could be educational and attract tourists from all over the world and thereby generate sales in the Valley and Valley tax revenue."