New clothing store OK’d for Old Town





The Calabasas Planning Commission approved a new clothing store in Old Town Calabasas at a meeting on April 4.

Bohemian Child, a maternity and infant clothing store, will lease half of a 3,600-square-foot building previously occupied by Rodeo Realty near Guido’s restaurant on Calabasas Road.

The applicant needed a permit to operate the store and modify the façade of the building. An interior design office will occupy the other 1,800-square-foot space inside the structure.

The clothing store will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. It will have two employees.

“The objective is to create a lively sidewalk environment,” said Krystin Rice, planning assistant for Calabasas. The store is locally owned and would fit in with the city’s master plans for the area, a city report said.

“It’s a great addition to what’s already there,” Commissioner Alicia Weintraub said.

The planning commission also considered a proposed 1,650- square-foot home to be built on a 5,100-square-foot vacant lot on Summit Drive at the corner of Ivy Trail in the Calabasas Highlands.

But critics felt the home was too large for the lot.

The builder requested permission to reduce setbacks on the street and rear sides of the home. The city typically requires a 10- to 20-foot space between structures and property lines in the rural community south of Mulholland Highway.

The applicant also needed a permit to encroach within the protected zone of a heritage oak tree and a scrub oak tree.

The builder previously wanted to build a 1,800-square-foot home with a 480-squre-foot garage. The design would have required significant pruning of a heritage oak tree.

At the requested of the commission, the applicant revised his plan, moving and reducing the size of the house to reduce impacts on the heritage oak tree. But the garage was enlarged to 594 square feet.

Several residents attended the commission meeting to share their concerns.

Calabasas Highlands resident Nancy Rothenberg urged the commission to make sure the new home and garage would not delay fire trucks from accessing neighboring homes and open spaces.

She also had qualms about the possible impacts construction would have on the heritage oak tree, stating that these old trees are vulnerable to disturbances.

The corner at Summit and Ivy Trail is already tight for larger vehicles, such as fire trucks.

“The house to could exacerbate problems at this corner,” Richard Thompson said.

Commissioners said the city is awaiting approval from the fire department. They approved the project on condition the developer would widen the narrow corner and possibly pave a portion of his property, should the fire department believe it’s needed.

Officials also imposed several conditions to protect the heritage oak next to the proposed home. The applicant will have to provide a weekly report when the structure is being built and city arborist will work with the developer to make sure procedures are followed to prevent damage to the tree’s roots.

Doug Brownstone, a neighboring property owner, said he supports the owner’s right to build on his parcel, but that the house is still too large for the small lot. He said the smaller setbacks could set a bad precedent in the Highlands which has many narrow and windy roads.



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