Bridges a big story in Agoura Hills




Two freeway overpasses, one for humans and the other for animals, grabbed headlines in Agoura Hills this year.

In 2019, work plowed ahead on the $13-million bridge and interchange makeover at Chesebro Road in Agoura Hills. The new overpass is expected to be completed later this year.

In April, the city joined 24 other California municipalities in a lawsuit that sought to retain local control over a burgeoning cannabis business that is trying to push the boundaries of where pot can and cannot be sold. The cities protested a 2018 law that went into effect this year allowing mobile cannabis delivery. They and not the state should have the final say on pot, lawyers argued.

May brought news that some Agoura Hills residents were unhappy with the rehab centers and halfway houses permitted to take root in their community. Critics at a meeting raised questions about why the state-sanctioned community living homes are being allowed to exist in the middle of quiet residential communities. There are four such homes in Old Agoura, and complaints arose about noise and disruption.

In July, the city announced plans for it first public park to be built south of the 101 Freeway. The $12-million park will lie adjacent to the existing L.A. County water runoff channel next to Agoura Road and east of Cornell Road.

August saw the hiring of Brianne Anderson as the new director of the Agoura/Calabasas Community Center. The former Westlake Village recreation chief replaced Annemarie Flaherty, who moved out of the area.

Residents became unnerved in September when a 56-year-old motorcycle rider, Stephen Richman, was hit and killed by a car at the Kanan Road-Eagleton Street intersection in Agoura Hills. The female driver reportedly ran a red light as the rider was passing through.

The proposed Liberty Canyon wildlife bridge over the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills received a boost in October when a retired Kansas couple became enamored with the project and donated a $500,000 check. #SaveLACougars is trying to raise private money to help pay for the more than $80-million wildlife overpass. Final plans for the project are expected next year.

At the end of the year, Illece Buckley Weber took over as new mayor of the city and promised to continue full review of the Agoura Village plan, a road map for the city’s proposed new town center.