Edelston ready for stint as mayor




John Edelston

John Edelston


If reelected to the Agoura Hills City Council, John Edelston will more than likely start his second term as mayor of the city. Edelston has served as mayor pro tem for the past year and says he still has many goals that he’d like to accomplish.

Agoura Village, in particular, is a project Edelston hopes to follow closely if reelected.

“Agoura Village is why I ran in the first place,” Edelston said. “If we were going to have development, I’d like to see it fits in with the character of the city, and also that it’s cohesive versus fragmented or hodgepodge,” he said. The 135-acre swath of land and properties south of the 101 Freeway at Agoura Road is poised to eventually become Agoura Village, a new commercial, retail and residential town center.

Edelston was among the five council members who unanimously approved the Agoura Village planning document last year.

“Each council member brings a different perspective,” Edelston said regarding the vetting projects for Agoura Village. “I have a pretty good feel for what I think would be a complementary match with the city,” he said.

Edelston said he wants to improve the new Kanan Interchange. He said that once Caltrans installs directional signs on Kanan Road by the freeway, commuters will have an easier time getting on and off the 101.

There’s also work that needs to be done on the Reyes Adobe and Chesebro bridges. Edelston was among the team of council members that secured state and federal funding for interchange improvements, saving the city millions of dollars.

Edelston was responsible for reinvigorating the city’s Community Emergency Response Team. CERT now has a trained 26member citizen emergency workforce ready to help during emergencies such as fires and earthquakes.

The preservation of open space will continue to be a primary goal for Edelston.

“We won’t see a bunch of houses that will contribute to more traffic,” he said.

Edelston is proud of his work toward city beautification. He said the area between Agoura Hills and Westlake Village on Thousand Oaks Boulevard used to be a “dreary. . .no-man’s-land.” But a dose of new wrought iron fencing and landscaping has transformed the area. “It’s nice to live in a community that is beautiful,” he said.

As for challenges in the future, Edelston wants to bring to Agoura Hills the kind of businesses and amenities that residents want- without turning the city into an extension of the San Fernando Valley.

Edelston’s other priorities include finding a balance between the need to keep adequate financial reserves in the city coffers and the pressure to fund new programs and services.

Edelston has raised about $6,000 for his campaign so far, and expects to spend a total of $8,000.

Members of the Old Agoura Homeowners Association, who had reservations about Edelston in his first bid for the City Council four years ago, now endorse his candidacy, he said.

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