Changing construction standards inspires anger in city of Calabasas
By Sharon Makokian
Acorn Staff Writer

After months of working with homeowners and landowners in the Old Topanga and Calabasas Highlands neighborhoods, the city of Calabasas planning and development staff proposed an amendment to the development code for the overlay zones in those areas.

The city planning commission approved the amendment during its regular meeting last Thursday.

But the night wasn’t without controversy; commissioners heard emotional testimony from both existing homeowners who didn’t want huge new houses in their neighborhoods and from landowners wanting to construct bigger homes than the new standards would allow.

Many expressed concerns about their investments and one landowner even wanted Calabasas to pay for what she called devaluation of her land.

Since May 17, the Old Topanga and Calabasas Highlands overlay zones were under a building moratorium, put in place by the Calabasas City Council as an emergency measure while new regulations were hammered out. That moratorium ends on Jan. 31and the city is trying to establish the new rules before then.

Early in the summer, city staff held informational meetings for the people who would be affected by the moratorium and revised building codes. Staff then formed working groups comprised evenly of existing homeowners and vacant landowners.

Although the groups worked together with city staff to devise the new building codes, the two sides still seemed to be at odds.

According to planning consultant Joyce Parker-Bozlinski, the new guidelines would limit homes in the Calabasas Highlands region to a maximum of 3,500 square feet, depending on the lot size.

The size limit was established because citizens said some new Highlands homes were too big. The new rules also change the way height is calculated and how setbacks are measured.

A hot button issue in both regions was sewage disposal.

Calabasas Highlands does have a sewer line, but only homes within 200 feet of the line are required to connect to it. Under the new laws, any new homes must connect to the sewer and any houses adding space with new plumbing fixtures will be required to hook up to the sewer.

Calabasas Highlands homeowner Debbie Shook complained that raw sewage runs down her street.

"I live four houses down and I still smell their sewage," said Shook, a member of one of the working groups.

Regulations about septic tanks were made more stringent in the Old Topanga overlay zone, which doesn’t have a sewer system.

The maximum building size also was reduced in the Old Topanga region. Because most of the lots there are built on high slopes with very little useable land, the area was planned for cabin-sized cottages.

Under new rules, the maximum house size would be 3,500 square feet, but most of the lots are small and the house size would be restricted to much smaller areas, according to the proposed devised ratios.

"It wasn’t just the residents out there saying ‘We want smaller houses’…We tried to conform with the general plan," said Parker-Bozlinski.

But prospective homebuilders didn’t agree with that assessment.

"I feel that the people who (devised this resolution) are looking out for their self interests. The irony is that most of the houses up there wouldn’t conform (to the new regulations)," said Norm Dornfest, a Calabasas Highlands property owner who felt the proposed new building area ratios were "arbitrary."

"Many people have paid tens of thousands of dollars to get the sewers and now are limited in what they can build on their land," he said.

Other landowners complained that their land investments would depreciate if they couldn’t build the larger houses they wanted.

Elizabeth Leitz said she bought her lot in the Old Topanga area for a "possible retirement or investment" and wanted the city to compensate her for any loss on her investment.

"It’s difficult for me to understand that they can whisk away one’s investment," she said.

Toby Keeler, president of the Old Topanga Homeowners’ Association and a member of the working group, supported the amendment and had harsh words for investors.

"People who buy property for investment are just as susceptible (to loss) as people who invest in the stock market … the city is not responsible," he said.

Vera Agiz, a landowner in Old Topanga, said that under the new proposal, the living space in her house would be reduced to 1,200 square feet.

"I bought (the land) because I wanted to live in Calabasas, but I won’t live in a 1,200 square-foot house," said Agiz, who, like others, said she had already spent a lot of money on plans designed prior to the new rules. She was one of several landowners who received applause for her comments.

Many existing homeowners supported the plan, but denied that they were trying to keep others out.

"The homeowners are not saying ‘We’ve got ours,’ not ‘You can’t have it,’" said Shook.

The proposed amendment passed 4-1, with Commissioner James Leewong casting the dissenting vote, claiming the plan was too "rigid" and "unfair."

"The door is open, the issues raised—they need to be further discussed. The fact that time is running out is not the basis for a wrong decision," Leewong said.

The plan will be presented to the city council in late November or December, when the council will conduct more public hearings on the issue.