Priorities set for Agoura Hills beautification projects

The Agoura Hills City Council has decided which beautification projects should be tackled in the coming year and ranked priorities at a recent meeting.

Five projects landed on the “high priority projects” list, including native plant landscaping on the west side of Kanan Road between Canwood Street and Hillrise Drive.

The east side of Kanan Road will also be landscaped to match the Oak Creek Apartments. Repainting the rail fencing at Hillrise and Kanan is also considered a top priority.

The connector path from Oak Creek Apartments to Chumash Park will be improved and the medians on Kanan Road will be landscaped to match those at Laro Drive and Fountainwood Street. The Morrison Homeowners Association will share the $50,000 cost.

A joint effort between the cities of Agoura Hills and Westlake Village will beautify the northwest area of Thousand Oaks Boulevard, which city officials call the gateway to Agoura Hills. The cities will split the $50,000 cost.

Agoura Hills will pay $135,000 for the high priority beautification projects, but expect the total cost for all projects to reach $385,000, according to Ken Berkman, city engineer. The city council allocated year’s budget.

Ranking high on the list of projects is trash collection and weed abatement along the 101 Freeway corridor. Areas along Agoura Road, Canwood StreetDriver Avenue, Kanan Road and Liberty Canyon Road have been identified as areas needing additional trash collection.

Improving Zuma Trail, a flood control channel that parallels Agoura Road, is also a high priority project. Berkman said the city is seeking Los Angeles County Flood Control District approval for the $10,000 improvement.

“It’s disappointing that the Adopt-a-Freeway (program) is not enough to keep it clean,” said Councilmember John Edelston. Trees on Agoura RoadCanwood Street, Eagleton Drive, Lake Lindero Drive and Thousand Oaks Boulevard are in need of trimming and, in some cases, replacement, according to Berkman’s report.

Other beautification projects include new illuminated signs at main intersections, repainting curbing and streets as neededremodeling the restrooms at parks, and replacing street signs in residential neighborhoods to create a unified look.

The project will take five years.

An ordinance was passed to replace all news racks in the city, which pleased Councilmember Jeff Reinhardt. “I’m excited about the notion of getting rid of the (old) newspapers boxes,” he said.

Further down on the list of priorities are new flowerbeds in front of the new park signs, replacing woodchips and sand with rubber at parks, creating a native plant scenic walk on the hill south of the Oak Creek Apartments, and decorative fencing and landscaping at the flood channels.

A kiosk may replace the Old Agoura Park bulletin board in the future and new

park amenities, including picnic tables and benches, have been added to the list.