Calabasas council to decide fate of trees on Las Virgenes Road
By Sharon Makokian
Acorn Staff Writer

MICHAEL COONS/The Acorn CHANGE-The city council of Calabasas will be forced to consider the removal of 22 large trees that were planted 46 years ago by Eric Pontoppidan. The trees can be seen along Las Virgenes Road.

Although the Calabasas Planning Commission recently approved construction of 48 single-family detached condominiums on an 11.63-acre site at the southeast corner of Agoura and Las Virgenes roads, it couldn’t agree on how to widen Las Virgenes Road in front of the project.

Commissioners forfeited their decision to the Calabasas City Council, which will face the issue during their Jan. 16 meeting.

The controversy revolves around the fate of 22 pepper trees belonging to longtime Calabasas resident Erik Pontoppidan, who planted them about 46 years ago.

About half of the trees are on his property, but they’ve grown so big that they can be seen by drivers on Las Virgenes Road. Some residents object to their removal. The way in which the road is to be widened to accommodate the project could eliminate a substantial number of trees. The Pontoppidans own three homes on six acres fronting Las Virgenes Road.

According to the city’s General Plan and the Las Virgenes Scenic Corridor Plan, the road is to expand from two lanes to four, which would force tree removals under the existing proposal.

Steve Craig, interim community development director, supports removing the trees and widening the road on the west.

"Your job is to guide the city, not the Pontoppidan family. Trees can be grown, shifted, etc. …" he told the commissioners. "The (Las Virgenes Scenic Corridor) plan says to widen the road and save the trees, but you can’t do both."

Many residents spoke out against removing the trees, before Craig came up with possible alternative plans. Mary Wiesbrock, representing Save Open Space, asked the commissioners to stick with the original plan.

"If you must go to four lanes, let it go to the east … obey the Las Virgenes Scenic Corridor Plan, which also comes under the Scenic Parkways in the Santa Monica Mountains Plan ... Those trees are gorgeous," she said, noting that her group represents hundreds of residents. Planning Commissioner Toby Keeler praised her organization for other achievements.

Joe Pifko, a 30-year Calabasas resident and member of the cityhood committee, also urged the commission to stick to the plan and save the trees.

"The city was formed for the residents—that’s why you’re here," he told the commission. "There were thousands of hours spent by hundreds of residents to come up with the plan."

Phil Ramuno, a another Calabasas cityhood committee member and current Agoura Hills Planning Commissioner, discussed a similar situation his commission faced in Agoura Hills, deciding to do half of the frontage road street improvements now and half in the future. He supported widening the road to the east to preserve the trees and protect the residents.

Several members of the Pontoppidan family also spoke in favor of widening the road to the east.

"The road to the east side is essentially a cliff of 15 to 30 feet and needs to be graded no matter what. Why not widen it to the east?" askd David Schilder, Pontop-pidan’s son-in-law, who lives in one of the houses.

Pontoppidan said he would lose more than one-third of an acre of his land if commissioners sided with the city staff.

"There’s nothing to keep the road from moving to the east, except maybe more grading for the developers and possibly fewer homes (in the development)," he said.

"We’ve been here a long time and love the Las Virgenes Valley, and want to see it stay a pretty place to live," Pontoppidan told The Acorn. "We worked hard for a long time—it was a labor of love."

Craig then offered three alternative suggestions for widening the road: full improvements, minimum impact design, and maintaining the center line, fairly divided between the two properties (following Ramuno’s suggestion of doing half first).

Allan Cooper, a representative of Pazar Company, the developer, said "The applicant (Pamela Azar) is not willing to move the road 40 feet over, (but) we’re perfectly willing to the half (alternative solution.)"

Pazar has appeared before the commission many times with different projects, including an apartment building that was rejected. This time, commissioners approved the development, but remanded the road widening issue to the city council for a final decision.

Planning Commission Chairman Dave Brown complained that he wasn’t given adequate maps from which to assess the situation, so he couldn’t render a decision about the road.