County favors smaller version of Heschel West
Yaroslavsky proposes temporary cap of 390 students
By Stephanie Bertholdo bertholdo@theacorn.com

Heschel West, a private Jewish day school proposed for an area adjacent to Old Agoura, will probably be allowed to open its planned new campus, but with a temporary cap on enrollment.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors heard appeals Jan. 23 from the city of Agoura Hills, the Old Agoura Homeowners Association and the environmental group Save Open Space questioning the Department of Regional Planning's earlier decision in favor of the school.

Even Heschel West appealed a portion of the planning department's decision. A continuing battle over whether access to the school should be through a multiphase traffic signal or a roundabout ended with the department allowing for a roundabout only. Heschel wanted to work with Caltrans to consider both options.

The appeal was continued to May 22, but Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky proposed a motion to allow construction of the school to get underway immediately. By limiting the school to 390 students, the traffic signal issue could be temporarily avoided.

Before Heschel's plan for a bigger campus with 750 students could be approved, however, further traffic mitigation would have to occur, Yaroslavsky said.

"What we don't want to do is have a situation where the school can't get started at all because we can't reach agreement with the city of Agoura Hills," Yaroslavsky said. "So if they can make this work through carpooling, busing and any other techniques that are available and mitigate (traffic issues) sufficiently, then they would be able to get started with the school of up to 390."

Agoura Hills Mayor Dan Kuperberg was not happy with the board's decision.

"Temporary solutions have a way of becoming final and permanent solutions," Kuperberg said.

"We think (the school) could destroy the character of Old Agoura," Kuperberg said. "Heschel wants dual traffic signals at the intersection of Chesebro and Canwood," Kuperberg said. "It's potentially unsafe."

The city prefers a two-lane roundabout, Kuperberg said. "It meets the needs and makes it safe."

Several officials spoke on behalf of the school. Land use expert Ben Resnick said Heschel appealed because an environmental impact report had deemed both options viable. He said Caltrans ultimately would decide the issue.

Caltrans had requested to review the roundabout as an option, Resnick said.

Roger Van Wert, another Heschel representative, outlined the changes made since 1998 when the school first filed for a conditional use permit. Access initially would have been through Old Agoura residential neighborhoods. After adjusting the size of the campus, adding hundreds of feet of setbacks and increasing the landscaping, the new design allows preservation of "key scenic areas on the 70-acre site (as well as) the hills and the ridgelines," Van Wert said.

Addressing the issue of fire safety, Van Wert said the school could provide an additional alternative evacuation route for the community without going through residential areas. He said the campus would also serve as a firebreak for Old Agoura.

Fire experts, traffic officials, Jewish leaders, students and others spoke in favor of the school. Calabasas Councilwoman Mary Sue Maurer compared public concern over Heschel with the issues residents had before A.C. Stelle Middle School was built n Calabasas.

"Alice C. Stelle Middle School opened four years ago on Mulholland Road, and it is the jewel of the community that I live in," Maurer said.

Headmaster Jeff Woodcock of Oaks Christian High School spoke about the need for more faith-based schools in the area. "I would suggest the benefits of this school far exceed the concerns," he said.

Kuperberg appealed to the board to uphold the city's appeal. "Just as you are concerned about the health and safety concerns of the residents of Los Angeles County, the city's paramount concern is the health and safety of our people," he said.

An Old Agoura resident produced 66 letters from residents who oppose the project.

Jess Thomas, president of the Old Agoura Homeowners Association, argued against the school based on the North Area Plan, a document designed to rein in rampant development in rural areas.

"The guiding principle under the conservation and open space element of the plan is . . . resource protection has priority over development," Thomas said. "Chesebro Road is listed as a scenic rural route whose . . . quality should be maintained and enhanced by regulating the alteration of the natural landscape and terrain. As designed this school requires massive grading."

Several Old Agoura residents discussed the possibility of finding an alternate site for the school that wouldn't intrude on the equestrian ambience of the community.