Proposed Old Agoura car wash doesn’t float

Project denied, but will be appealed



A proposed automotive lube and detailing center would not be a good fit for Old Agoura and should not be built in the quiet equestrian community, Agoura Hills officials decided last week.

The Agoura Hills Planning Commission denied Pasadena resident Aitan Hillel’s request to construct a carwash on the southeast corner of Chesebro and Palo Comado Canyon roads. The site lies within a few hundred feet of the Partners in Learning Preschool, the Agoura Hills Senior Retreat, the Old Agoura Equestrian Center and Pony Club and several single family residences.

The developer plans to appeal the panel’s decision to the Agoura Hills City Council.

The proposal called for a 4,677squarefoot car wash including a 600-square-foot second story office area, a 3,460squarefoot attached canopy for a service area, and a detached 1,318square-foot automotive lube and detailing service building with a 550-square-foot service basement.

To accommodate the project, Palo Comado Road would have to be widened and the arched Old Agoura entrance sign would have to be redone.

The prospect of the car wash prompted about 100 Old Agoura residents to attend the meeting. More than two dozen spoke against the project.

Cathee Hickok, a resident who lives about a block from the site, compared the project to a cat food commercial. “It’s like calling cat food Fancy Feast and putting it in a crystal dish- it’s still cat food,” she said.

Larry Brown, a member of the Old Agoura Rangers equestrian group, proposed a reasoning test to underscore the incompatibility of the car wash.

“If such a test contained a seniors’ residence, a riding arena, a preschool and a house, the applicant who completed the series by answering ‘a car wash’ would surely not get the job,” Brown said.

“This is an absolute insult to the community identity as described in the General Plan,” said Ron Trancatty, an Old Agoura resident who spoke on behalf of the community’s equestrian interests.

But Tom Cohen, a representative for Hillel, said the car wash and detail center was “goodlooking, functions well and does not unduly negatively impact the area.”

“My clients are not devils,” Cohen said, adding that they were conscientious and sensitive to the neighbors when the project was planned. “We believe this project is in keeping with the Old Agoura ambience,” he said.

Hillel agreed to mask the center by hiding 40 percent of it behind landscaping. Cohen said the property could not be seen from the street.

Architect Allan O’Connor said the project was designed to fit into Old Agoura. The buildings were designed in a “prairie/Western style” with heavy timbers and stone, he said, architecture similar to the Agoura Hills Civic Center. The center’s sign would incorporate Western letters, a fountain would face the street on the corner and meandering sidewalks would add a rural component to the project, he said.

“We think it fits in,” O’Connor said. The design elements and double landscaping would amount to a “parklike feeling,” he said.

Planning commissioners considered noise levels at the center, potential parking problems and safety and health issues in denying the project.

Sheldon Fried, owner of Partners In Learning Preschool, said the noise level of a car wash would be detrimental to young children. He said Caltrans had determined that “vegetation was not a sound barrier.”

Sherman Oaks resident Mario Forni spoke on behalf of Aiten and Schlomy Hillel. “Schlomy Hillel is my friend,” he said. “We both own horses.” He urged commissioners to visit Hillel’s Pasadena car wash center to see how smoothly the business operates.

“Schlomy and his brother didn’t decide this area should be commercial; the city of Agoura Hills did,” Forni said. Aitan Hillel said the undeveloped lot is dangerous, as there is no lighting, and said children riding bikes there could get hurt. He also said blowers used at the carwash were “not as loud as you think.”

Robert Evren, an Old Agoura resident representing the Old Agoura Homeowners Association, said the project was “sensitively clad,” but felt it wasn’t compatible with Old Agoura. He said volatile compounds at a car wash could hurt preschool children and elderly residents who are the most at risk for environmental toxins. Air hoses used at the carwash would also spook horses, Evren said.

Another issue that rankled residents and commissioners alike was the applicant’s need to remove a large, old black walnut tree on the property. Rebecca Latta, an arborist who consults with the city of Agoura Hills, said black walnuts are not protected but are a threatened species because of a “rapidly vanishing habitat.” Latta said Los Angeles County protects black walnut trees.

Andrea Palella, owner of the 24-unit apartment building across the street from the proposed carwash, urged commissioners to see the proposal as an “inappropriate use of an allowable use.”

Planning Commissioner Curtis Zacuto, an environmental consultant, said the environmental document is intended to be a disclosure to help cities make “well-informed decisions.” He said the document’s “mitigated negative declaration” did not provide enough information for an informed decision.

Commissioner Phil Ramuno said he didn’t want the walnut tree removed. He called the tree a “cultural feature of the property,” and said it would be a “tremendous loss” to cut it down.

Commissioner Illece Buckley Weber said there were too many discrepancies in the way environmental impacts were described in the application. “There are real safety problems here,” she said.

Chairman Steve Rishoff said that while he respects the right of property owners to develop their land, he couldn’t approve the plan on several counts. He said a ca rwash would interfere with the existing neighborhood and businesses and would not maintain the character of Old Agoura. Rishoff said he agreed with Zacuto’s finding that the applicant did not provide an adequate environmental document.

Commissioners quibbled about voting against the project, then denied it by a 3-1 vote. Zacuto, who was against the project but in favor of keeping the public hearing open, wanted to allow Commissioner John O’Meara, who was absent from the five-hour meeting, a chance review the taped broadcast and decide whether the applicant should be allowed to come back with a different set of plans.


Leave a Reply

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