City covets Mont Calabasas

The Calabasas Planning Commission and City Council say they are in favor of annexing the Mont Calabasas area into the city.

Mont Calabasas comprises 110 luxury homes at the northwest intersection of Las Virgenes Road and Thousand Oaks Boulevard. The community was built in 2002.

The council approved the prezoning of the property and the actual annexation application is pending. The Los Angeles Local Area Formation Commission (Lafco), which oversees annexation matters, will need to determine that the area is rezoned appropriately before giving Calabasas a go-ahead.

There will be a second reading of the city's ordinance on May 6. The application to Lafco will follow.

"There are multiple steps to annexations," said Maureen Tamuri, Calabasas Community Development director. "The city's codes and county's codes are similar, but there are slight differences. This is a step to do formal zoning."

Members of the Mont Calabasas homeowners board have shown support for the application, Tamuri said.

"It's a natural fit to have you join our city, and it's a very exciting prospect," Mayor Jonathon Wolfson told community representatives.

Councilmember Mary Sue Maurer said the possibility of extending the city limits was "very exciting."

The city's last annexation was five years ago when it acquired the Creekside Calabasas condominium development on the eastern outskirts of Calabasas Park. It also acquired the intersection of Park Ora and Valmar.

Calabasas became a city in 1991, the last of the county's incorporations.