So Senator Cranston has decided to jump into the fray over the proposed land swap in the Santa Monica Mountains Recreation Area. What the senator and other purists who oppose this swap fail to recognize is that no amount of holding the line will prevent the eventual development of part of this region into tract housing. Some sort of compromise will be necessary to preserve parkland, and yet satisfy the present land owners who are being wooed by developers.
The proposed exchange--about 1,100 acres of Bob Hope's Jordan Ranch in return for 59 acres on which to build an access road--strikes me an equitable compromise. Consider also that an additional 4,600 acres are being thrown in by Hope at a price considerably below market value.
