Agoura Hills weighs senior housing project

By Stephanie Bertholdo bertholdo@theacorn.com

Agoura Hills city council members recently reviewed an informal proposal for a senior housing project along the south side of Agoura Road.

The developer, Carlos Khantzis, wants permission from the city council to proceed with plans to develop the 7.1-acre property.

If approved, Khantzis would need an amendment to the Ladyface Mountain Specific Plan, which doesn’t allow for residential development.

It’s not the first time that Khantzis has come before the city council.

In 2002, he proposed constructing 48 senior condo units in 10 buildings on the site. The project also featured subterranean parking.

Now, he wants to build a senior project that would include 23 two-story condominiums on the west side of the property near the Archstone Apartments, and 12 townhomes on the east side of the property.

Initially, Khantzis wanted to build condominiums, but civil code requires a minimum density of 35 units if the project is to qualify as a senior citizen housing development. The city could not restrict the occupancy exclusively to seniors if the project has fewer than 35 units.

Brad Rosenheim represented Khantzis at last week’s meeting. Rosenheim said that Khantzis has two plans.

If the council could not support the senior housing plan, then the applicant would like to build 20 nonrestricted units on the property.

Council members appeared to prefer the senior housing concept over the unrestricted development. Either scenario would require an amendment to the city’s "specific plan," and the planning commission and city council would be required to conduct public hearings.

The proposed condos would be up to 1,800 square feet and the homes up to 2,200 square feet.

Agoura Hills Mayor Ed Corridori said he preferred clustered units so the natural environment is less impacted.

He added that although the owner would like the complex to be gated, council members generally oppose gated communities, because they believe that gates compromise the semi-rural nature of Agoura Hills.

Mayor Pro Tem Denis Weber said that he favored low-impact, low-density housing, rather than a business park.

Said Councilmember Jeff Reinhardt, "The only residential use I do feel is appropriate is senior housing." He encouraged the applicant to bring back a formal application.

While Councilmember John Edelston approved of senior housing, he didn’t believe that the project’s density was low enough.

"There’s nothing about it that fits in the city," he said, adding that he didn’t like "clustered" homes.