The City of Industry has purchased a 2,400-acre Boy Scout camp in the hills outside of town. The acquisition and Industry's plans for the property have spurred a major fight between Industry and a collection of environmentalists and officials from neighboring jurisdictions. Industry Mayor David Perez said the Boy Scout camp will provide an open space buffer and floodplain below a reservoir the city intends to build on adjacent land, which the city purchased during the 1970s. But opponents of the project say Industry intends to build a reservoir complex on the Boy Scout camp — a site long desired by environmentalists for its habitat values. Perez said he thinks his city can work out a compromise that satisfies everyone. But at this point, the sides seem miles apart. Industry is not a typical city. Incorporated in 1957 as a municipality whose sole focus was serving private enterprise, Industry today is home to 3,200 businesses with approximately 80,000 employees. But only about 700 people reside inside the city limits. So a handful of major business interests — including Majestic Realty, one of Southern California's biggest commercial developers — closely hold the power in Industry. In 1978, Industry purchased the Tres Hermanos Ranch several miles east of town in San Bernardino County with the intent of developing a 165,000-acre-foot reservoir. For a variety of reasons, that project never went beyond the planning stage, although Industry leaders did not forget about it. The city needs an inexpensive, reliable water supply to continue thriving, Perez said. During the 1980s, the Los Angeles Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America began attempting to sell all or most of the 3,300-acre Firestone Scout Reservation, which the tire company had donated decades earlier. The Scouts had difficulty maintaining the camp and needed the money. But no sale was ever completed. In 1994, the cities of Brea, Diamond Bar, La Habra Heights and Whittier joined with the state parks department, the Department of Fish & Game, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservation Authority and Los Angeles County to form the Wildlife Corridor Conservation Authority (WCCA). The authority is intended to plan for the preservation of a stretch of undeveloped land that stretches from Whittier (in Los Angeles County) through the far southwestern corner of San Bernardino County to the Cleveland National Forest in Orange and Riverside counties. The authority also can purchase property. "This 31-mile corridor is one of the last long, connected habitat corridors in urban Southern California," explained Bob Henderson, a Whittier city councilman and member of the WCCA board. Shortly after WCCA's formation, its leaders began negotiating with Boy Scout officials regarding the Firestone Scout camp. The camp is in Tonner Canyon, which is classified as a "significant ecological area." The canyon contains riparian, valley grassland, coastal sage scrub and walnut woodland ecosystems, all of which are rare in the greater Los Angeles area. The Scout camp also lies in the migratory route of a number of species, including mule deer, coyote, bobcat and mountain lion. The acquisition process appeared to gain momentum with the passage of a 1996 Los Angeles County park bond measure, which provided $10 million for the purchase. Eventually, WCCA offered the Scouts as much as $14 million, but no deal was ever reached, according to Henderson. In 1999, the Wildlands Conservancy, a well-funded private organization, sought the Scout camp as a possible location for the conservancy's outdoor education programs. However, neither a joint WCCA-Wildlands Conservancy deal with the Scouts, nor a deal strictly between the conservancy and the scouts was ever signed. Henderson said that the two entities eventually offered $18 million for the property. In December 2000, the Scouts accepted $16.5 million from the City of Industry. Why the Scouts appeared to favor the city is unclear. Scout representatives did not return requests for comment. Henderson and others pointed out that a vice president of Majestic Realty is a member of the Scout board. The Wildlands Conservancy, WCCA, the Sierra Club, the Center for Biological Diversity and a collection of individuals have filed two suits against Industry and the Scouts over the purchase. The first suit challenges Industry's use of its redevelopment agency to purchase the property because the site is largely undeveloped and is not within a redevelopment project area — or even within the city limits. After initial court hearings on that suit, Industry altered its deal with the Scouts so that the city itself — not the redevelopment agency — purchased the land. A second suit challenges the acquisition on other grounds. Industry declared the acquisition categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act, saying the city has no development intentions. But attorney Murray Kane, who represents the Tonner Canyon Wilderness Conservancy and individuals in the case, said Industry is trying to have it both ways. If the city purchased the property and intends to leave it untouched, then there was no municipal purpose for the acquisition. Kane and others say Industry has plans for a reservoir on the Scout property. The land acquisition is an early stage of the project, so it is subject to environmental review, he argued. Kane also said that Industry did not make general plan consistency findings, nor did Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, where the land is located. Plus, he contended, the redevelopment issue is not dead because Industry intends to use redevelopment money for roads on the site. Brea Councilwoman Bev Perry, also complained about Industry's attempt to use its redevelopment agency to acquire the property. The Industry Urban Development Agency's attempt to purchase undeveloped, non-blighted property outside of the city limits gives a bad name to all redevelopment agencies, she said. Perry, who serves as chair of WCCA, noted that the dams would be within one mile of a major earthquake fault — and her city lies below the potential reservoirs. She said undeveloped land such as Tonner Canyon is rare in Southern California and it is an essential link in the wildlife corridor. "It's a very beautiful canyon that the Boy Scouts have had forever," Perry said. "We really want to see this land preserved, and a reservoir isn't going to do it." Henderson, who has served 20 years in two stints on the Whittier City Council, agreed. Under Industry plans that litigants have gained access to, Industry would construct a complex of three dams, he said. One reservoir and part of another lake would lie on the Boy Scout camp. "Every single bit of Tonner Canyon would be destroyed," Henderson said. Some opponents of the Industry project also believe that if the city does not build the reservoirs, it could approved thousands of houses on the hillsides — an charge that Industry officials reject. Industry Mayor Perez declined to discuss details of the lawsuits. He countered that opponents "are upset because we bought what they wanted." "We're not against their wildlife corridor," Perez added. "When the Boy Scouts property became available for sale, we decided to get it for open space and a flood plain." That allows Industry to build a larger, 250,000-acre-foot reservoir on its Tres Hermanos land, he explained. The reservoir will not fill Tonner Canyon from ridgeline to ridgeline, nor will it conflict with the wildlife corridor, he said. Moreover, a reservoir it could provide needed recreation for the Scouts and the general public, he added. Industry's agreement with the Scouts prevents the city from developing the site, Perez added. However, such restrictions do not exist on the Tres Hermanos land. The two sides are due to appear in court this month. Contacts: David Perez, City of Industry mayor, (626) 333-2211. Bob Henderson, Wildlife Corridor Conservation Authority, Whittier city councilman, (562) 945-8200. Bev Perry, WCCA, Brea city councilwoman, (714) 990-2258 Murray Kane, Kane, Ballmer & Berkman, (213) 617-048