Calabasas development referrendum




On Nov. 8, Calabasas voters will be asked to vote on whether or not to approve a three-story, 72,000-square-foot hotel as well as 67 large homes and four condominiums on Las Virgenes Road south of the 101 next to another uncontested three-story hotel that has already been approved.

The developer and the three council members who approved the project threaten that if voters do not approve the project, the developer will come back with a proposal for the maximum density allowed by the zoning code of 180 apartments and 155,000 square feet of commercial development generating over 8,000 car trips per day.

Voters should not be fooled. The only way for the threatened “maximum build-out” project to happen is if the City Council approves it. However, any city council members who approve a development that would put 8,000 more car trips on this scenic corridor are not likely to keep their seats on the council.

The site is constrained by steep slopes, an ancient landslide, an iconic viewshed, rare natural springs and wetlands, rare plant communities, heritage oaks, an important wildlife corridor, and adjacency to parkland and residences.

The current project’s size is not acceptable merely because it is less than the maximum allowed by law. This threat of a far bigger project is grossly overstated.

The city’s General Plan assures us that “maximum development intensity . . . does not imply that all parcels could be developed at their maximum intensity or that any specific parcel is entitled to maximum intensity.”

Mayor Pro Tem Mary Sue Maurer recognized that “The build-out is worst case scenario . . . so it’s nothing that I think would ever happen. . . . Most people I talk to realize . . . that it would never be built out to capacity. That just isn’t realistic.”

Your vote on Nov. 8 against the project will let those three council members who approved the current development know that you are advocating for a much smaller project, not a bigger one, and it would be nice if they listened to their constituents instead of threatening them.

Mary Hubbard
Calabasas

Hubbard is the president of the Malibu Canyon Community Association.

Overdevelopment is an issue that affects all of Calabasas.

The Canyon Oaks project is not in compliance with the General Plan and the location is not zoned for construction of a hotel.

An ordinance approved by a City Council 3-2 vote would have changed both the General Plan and the current zoning to accommodate the developer. That ordinance is now suspended.

Ballot Measure F will decide the matter when Calabasas voters take to the polls Nov. 8. The referendum outcome affects only the Canyon Oaks project.

To clarify, there are two hotels proposed, each to be built at the gateway to the Santa Monica Mountains: the Rondell project on the north side and the Canyon Oaks project on the south side of the Mobil gas station on Las Virgenes Road near Agoura Road.

The Rondell project has already been approved and will bring tax revenue to the city.

Proponents of Canyon Oaks feel it has the least impact and is the best fit for this location.

Opponents aren’t against revenue producing projects like a hotel, but Canyon Oaks is not a good fit for this environmentally sensitive location.

The Canyon Oaks project would require mitigations. Millions of cubic feet of existing hillsides would be bulldozed.

Canyon Oaks would create looming walls of dirt and bricks with estate houses on small lots, some 80 feet above street level.

The natural beauty, wetlands and natural springs aren’t going to be a little bit impacted—they would be totally obliterated. And 23 acres of open space land would be graded, not “saved.”

Mayor James Bozajian and Mayor Pro Tem Mary Sue Maurer; The Sierra Club; The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy; Harold Arkoff, founder of the Calabasas Park Homeowners Association; David Litt, former planning commissioner; and over 2,000 Calabasas residents who signed the petition to bring the matter to a referendum vote, all oppose Canyon Oaks.

I urge all Calabasas voters to join them and vote no on Measure F.

Joe Chilco
Calabasas



Leave a Reply

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