Plans unveiled for new Calabasas hotel

Project ‘considerably smaller’ than what General Plan allows



SCENIC SETTING—An architect’s rendering of the Canyon Oaks Hotel at Las Virgenes and Agoura roads shows thefinished product.

SCENIC SETTING—An architect’s rendering of the Canyon Oaks Hotel at Las Virgenes and Agoura roads shows thefinished product.

Calabasas residents have until Aug. 24 to submit their comments on the environmental study for the Canyon Oaks development on Agoura and Las Virgenes roads.

The project at 4790 Las Virgenes Road comprises a 120- room hotel and 71 homes in a 77-acre valley at the end of Agoura Road. About 60 acres would remain open space.

The developer, the New Home Company, has asked the city for an amendment to its General Plan, a zone change and a conditional use permit in order to build the four-story, 66,500-square-foot hotel, which will occupy 3 acres at the front of the property along Las Virgenes Road.

The project includes 67 singlefamily homes and four affordable units in two duplexes in a 13-acre valley behind the Colony neighborhood.

The city’s 2030 General Plan allows for a 16-acre development with 155,000 square feet of commercial space and 180 multifamily units on the same site.

“The project we’re proposing is considerably smaller than what the city supported in its General Plan,” said Rick Bianchi, vice president and regional manager for New Home. “We recognize that this is a great location; we want to be part of the Calabasas community. We think that this project will complement the existing neighborhood and support businesses in the area.”

Canyon Oaks is one of three new developments in the pipeline for the Las Virgenes scenic corridor south of the 101 Freeway. A hotel at Rondell Road and a townhome project at 4240 Las Virgenes Road have also been proposed.

Proponents say the new hotels and homes will provide a boost to the city and its business economy, but critics worry about the urbanization of the scenic western part of town.

According to the Canyon Oaks environmental study, about 39 acres of the site would be graded for the development and to repair a landslide on the southern portion of the property. All the soil will be reused on the project site.

Traffic

According to the report, Canyon Oaks would generate 1,650 new average daily trips, including 116 in the morning peak hours and 142 in the afternoon peak hours.

The environmental study assumes that the segment of Las Virgenes Road south of Agoura Road will be widened to fourlanes before the new homes and hotel are completed.

If the project is approved, Bianchi said, his company would provide funding to the city for traffic mitigation and make improvements at Agoura and Las Virgenes roads and other areas fronting the property.

Population growth and economic impact

Based on the 2010 U.S. Census, the average household in Calabasas consists of three people. The new homes in Canyon Oaks would have about 200 residents, and the types of jobs created by the new hotel are not likely to bring more residents to the city, according to the report.

The developer said Canyon Oaks residents and hotel guests would contribute to the local economy by shopping and dining locally. The hotel would bring an estimated $600,000 in annual tax revenue to the city.

In addition to generating temporary construction jobs, the hotel would create an estimated 108 new long-term jobs, according to the report.

Water

Canyon Oaks would use about 38,300 gallons of water per day or about 14 million gallons a year, which is half of what existing developments of this size use, the study said.

To reduce reliance on potable water, the homes and hotel will have low-flow fixtures, and recycled water will be used for landscaping throughout the development.

The water district relies on the city’s General Plan and growth projections to evaluate future demand.

Since the proposed project was cut by 50 percent, it will use much less than allowed, Bianchi said.

Moving forward

The developer hopes to start construction in spring 2016 and complete the project by 2019. The homes would be built first.

Plans for the project, with architecture in the Santa Barbara and Monterey styles, were approved by city’s architectural review panel.

The hotel will be on a graded pad about 12 feet above the road and set back 60 feet at an angle against the hillside.

Each single-family home will be about 3,000 square feet. The developer anticipates the houses will be worth at least $1 million each. Currently homes in that area sell for $350 to $400 per square foot, Bianchi said.

The 700- to 1,000-square-foot duplexes will be inside the gated community and priced for entrylevel buyers who earn 50 percent of the average median income in L.A. County. Bianchi said the condos will be ideal for new teachers, firefighters and people who work in the service industry and earn $40,000 to $50,000 a year.

The Canyon Oaks proposal is scheduled to go to the planning commission in December.

The environmental study is available online at www.cityofcalabasas.com. Comments are due by 5 p.m. Aug., 24.


 

 

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