Agoura Hills City Council likes proposed ridgeline ordinance





The Agoura Hills City Council recently endorsed the proposed Santa Monica Mountains North Area Plan Grading and Significant Ridgeline Ordinance.


The Santa Monica North Area Plan was passed in 2000 by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. The North Area Plan offers guidelines for long-term development and follows a principle to let the land dictate the type and intensity of use.


According to Agoura Hills City Manager Greg Ramirez, the "Significant Ridgeline Ordinance creates additional standards, including the requirement of a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for grading that exceeds 5,000 cubic yards of total cut plus total fill, or that creates a graded area of more than 15,000 square feet." Currently, the threshold is 100,000 cubic yards.


To protect scenic ridgelines, the ordinance would require that the top of any structure that requires a building permit must be at least 50 vertical feet and 50 horizontal feet from a significant ridgeline.


Mayor Pro Tem Ed Corridori testified at the Los Angeles City Council meeting last week in support of the measure. He said that opponents of the ordinance "stem largely from those who want the freedom to do more grading without a CUP and those who want to site homes on ridgelines."


The city of Agoura Hills has more stringent ordinances, Corridori said, than those being proposed by the county.


—Stephanie Bertholdo



Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *