Calabasas to meet with L.A. regarding possible annexation

Acorn Staff Writer


Calabasas to meet with L.A. regarding possible annexation


By Michael Picarella


Acorn Staff Writer

Representatives of Calabasas will meet with city of Los Angeles officials regarding a possible annexation of the Leonis Adobe property and the Sagebrush Cantina restaurant and bar in Old Town Calabasas. The two sites are currently zoned as city of Los Angeles properties. L.A. city council members had previously opposed the annexation on grounds that the change included no benefits for Los Angeles and because Calabasas was proceeding without consulting L.A.


Calabasas city council members said they hoped an agreement could be ironed out between the two municipalities after a couple of meetings. One is scheduled for Fri., Sept 12, according to Calabasas City Manager Donald Duckworth.


"(We want to) conduct a meeting with (L.A. City Councilman) Dennis Zine and/or his staff," Duckworth told the Calabasas council during a recent meeting.


"We need to develop a work program, a work plan and coordinate a schedule of activities and possibly some alternatives that we can bring back to this council before doing anything else," he said.


Zine was on vacation and unable to comment for this story. He previously said that Calabasas needed to initiate the proposal.


Leonis Adobe, which dates back to 1844, and Sagebrush are both considered to be Calabasas landmarks. That’s why Calabasas has been trying since 1990 to annex the six-acre parcel.


But Los Angeles isn’t expected to just to forfeit Sagebrush to Calabasas. The popular eatery and watering hole is a sales-tax-revenue gold mine for L.A.; Calabasas must offer something that benefits the big city.


Calabasas has already spent about $70,000 on the annexation process, according to Calabasas Mayor Pro Tem Michael Harrison, and that’s without any type of agreement with L.A.


The council had previously instructed Calabasas city staff to start working with LAFCO (the Local Agency Formation Commission) to show why annexation makes sense.


Once LAFCO receives the formal application, it will be reviewed and recommendations will be made, according to Calabasas special projects coordinator Matthew Hayden.


Harrison worries that Calabasas has been putting the horse before the cart and spending too much without getting a sense of L.A.’s predicament.


The negotiations between the two cities will likely involve a proposal for Calabasas to compensate L.A. for the loss of Sagebrush revenues—unless L.A. would keep it. Which city would provide law enforcement and fire protection is another issue.


Deputies from Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station—under contract for the city of Calabasas—and L.A. police both serve the area. But the sheriff’s department needs additional funding if gets total jurisdiction, according to Harrison.





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