The village and the school

Agoura Hills officials last week approved the Agoura Village Specific Plan, and took a major step toward giving residents the true town center they've been promised for almost a decade.

Not another shopping center, not another strip mall, but a rural setting in the shadow of the Santa Monica Mountains where tasteful dining, entertainment and shopping merge with residential living. It's main street, Agoura Hills-and with class.

Sounds exciting, but there's still much work to be done. And it may never come to fruition if opponents have their way. The faction in Agoura Hills that advocates slow growth really desires no growth at all.

The city council has worked hard to build a vision for the community. Agoura Village defines that vision. In reality, the plan promises to be less intense in terms of traffic and development than what the city's original General Plan allows. It will give areas south of the 101 Freeway a modern twist by redeveloping old commercial zones and allowing new buildings to brighten the day. It will make Agoura Hills a city to be proud of.

Still, there are issues to be dealt with.

It's hard to understand, for example, how city officials can move full steam ahead with Agoura Village, but at the same time oppose the new Heschel Day School on the city's eastern border just a few miles away. Won't Agoura Village bring just as much traffic as the school? How can the city be in favor of one development and not the other?

Though already approved by the Los Angeles County Planning Commission, the private Jewish school faces continued opposition from Agoura Hills and some of its residents, even threats of a lawsuit.

It's the age-old tactic: Local municipalities approve development inside the city, but oppose construction when it's outside their borders. We hope now that Agoura Village has been approved, the mood will become more conciliatory toward the Heschel school.