In Agoura Hills, it takes a village

Agoura Hills officials are inching closer toward realization of the Agoura Village Specific Plan, an eclectic but tasteful new development that gives residents the true town center they've been promised for almost a decade.

Not another shopping center, not another strip mall, but a carefully planned commercial setting in the shadow of the Santa Monica Mountains where tasteful dining, entertainment and shopping merge with residential living. Think Main Street, Agoura Hills, with class.

Sounds exciting, but there's still much work to be done. In Agoura Hills, there's an ongoing faction that advocates slow growth, although no growth is what it really desires. Among other things, a citizen's lawsuit has been filed in an attempt to block the village. Opponents worry mostly about the density of construction and the amount of traffic that would come to the Kanan Road-Agoura Road neighborhood just south of the 101 Freeway.

The City Council has worked hard to build a vision for the community. Agoura Village defines that vision. In its defense, it promises to be less intense in terms of "floor area ratio" (a term to describe the size of a building compared to its lot) than what the city's original General Plan allows. It will give the area 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.

We applaud the citizen watchdog groups for monitoring the project and keeping an eye on the possible excesses of development. If they do their job-and allow the city's professional planners to do theirs-Agoura Village will become the gem of the region.

What's needed to move the project forward is cooperation, not conflict.