Agoura Hills City Council to appeal Liberty Canyon office project

The Agoura Hills City Council said it will appeal the planning commission's approval of an office and medical center development on the corner of Liberty Canyon and Agoura Road.

Planners gave the green light for the project on May 1.

The development calls for a 9,660 squarefoot, onestory office building and a two-story medical building, but the construction requires the removal of 12 oak trees. Another 27 trees would be affected.

Four native species of oak are protected in the city, including valley oak, scrub oak, coast live oak and coastal scrub oak. When a developer obtains approval to cut down an oak they are required to plant young trees elsehwere on the property or other designated locations.

According to a commission report, one of the oak trees is dead. Three new oak trees will be planted in the project's right of way, another in an empty tree well along Agoura Road," and two more on Liberty Canyon in new tree wells.

"To mitigate the tree loss, property, the applicant would be required by the zoning ordinances to provide a minimum of 48 new oak trees, including at least 24, 24-inch box and 12, 36-inch box size," the planning report says.

Mark Leonard of Calabasas owns the property.

In the event that all the trees cannot be planted on the site, city planners have recommended that Leonard work with the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy to plant a portion of the required trees on the northwest corner of Liberty Canyon and Agoura Road. The area has been identified as a wildlife corridor that allows animals to travel from the National Park Service territory at the northeast corner of Agoura Hills to the Santa Monica Mountain Conservancy territory south of the city.

City Councilmember Bill Koehler said he'd like to review the project to see if there was any way to save any of the oak trees during the widening of Liberty Canyon Road.

"There has been some concern in the community," said Councilmember Dan Kuperberg. A new hearing would allow council members to review all aspects of the project, Kuperberg said.

"(My) biggest concern is the removal of the oak tree when I think there are other ways to save it," Councilmember Harry Schwarz said. Mayor John Edelston also supported the appeal, but Councilmember Denis Weber did not.

"The Planning Commission looked at this," Weber said. "We should wait to hear their rationale."

"We've had the removal of oak trees for widening of streets before," Edelston said. "I'm interested to hear both sides."

The City Council approved the appeal on a 41 vote with Weber dissenting. The date of the appeal has not been scheduled.