Formal groundbreaking for the Ahmanson Ranch project, a town-style development on 2,800 acres in the Simi Hills in southeastern Ventura County, will not take place until 2001. However, the project has already achieved historic status for the size of the private-to-public land transfer it produced and for reviving a design concept that marks a major departure from the car-dependent suburban enclave typical of the postwar era.
With 886 entries, the Gold Nugget is the biggest regional competition in the nation, said Pete Mayer, judging chairman and producer of the show. But it was design--not price--that guided the panel of 14 home building and design experts who were judges in the 'Gold Nugget' competition at the annual Pacific Coast Builders Conference.