Residents clash with city over 'village'

Residents clash with city over 'village' By Stephanie Bertholdo bertholdo@theacorn.com
Opponents are stepping up their fight against the Agoura Village Specific Plan, a long-range document that sets the stage for the development of an eclectic, mixeduse town center south of the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills.
Opponents believe the plan violates the city's General Plan in several ways, posing safety, traffic and environmental problems.
A community meeting was held Oct. 26 at the Malibou Lake Country Club to rally support against the village plan.
Malibou Lakeside resident Mary Altmann formed a watchdog group called "Citizens for Sensitive Development" and has filed a lawsuit against the city of Agoura Hills in an attempt to slow the center's progress.
The suit challenges the city's certification of an Agoura Village "Program Environmental Impact Report," which opponents believe is inadequate, but city officials say is simply misunderstood. The report analyzes how the center will affect the environment.
Altmann was among about 35 residents, mostly from the Malibou Lake area, to attend the October meeting. "We're trying to fight city hall," said Joe D'allaqua, a longtime resident who believes the Agoura Village plan doesn't offer enough details and is worried that some established businesses would be forced to leave, a charge the city denies.
"If they choose to leave, or choose to redevelop, it's totally up to them to make that decision," said Mike Kamino, Agoura Hills' director of planning and community development.
D'allaqua also said the city has made "backdoor deals" with developers.
Kamino said three developers have been working with the city in an attempt to get the village underway. Each project, Kamino saidwould require separate environmental reviews, including California Environmental Quality Act documents. Each property owner must undergo hearings and obtain separate approval for their project"The Specific Plan is a tool," said Allison Cook, senior planner for Agoura Village. "It's up to each applicant to move forward or not."
The Agoura Village plan does not allow industrial uses. Existing storage businesses have been "grandfathered in," and will be allowed to operate in the area as long as their owners desire.
Steve Hess, a member of the Las Virgenes Homeowners Federation who opposes Agoura Village, said the concept has changed considerably since it was first introduced by former Agoura Hills mayors Fran Pavley and Louise Rishoff and other city leaders.
"This is not what they had in mind," Hess said.
Rishoff worked on the Agoura Village Task Force in developing the current plan.
"I continue to support the original concept, but the devil is in the details," Rishoff said.
She said the development will unfold as each application comes before the city planning commission.
"The first (project) in will set the standard for everyone that follows," Rishoff said.
Opponents are concerned about traffic and believe a proposed roundabout at Kanan Road will create more problems than it solves.
A traffic study predicts more than 17,000 additional car trips each day from the village, but the number is small in comparison to the existing traffic, Cook said.
Kamino said the level of traffic flow would be considered average under the Institute of Traffic Engineers' nationwide standard rating system.
One area, however, will fall below the "C" traffic level. Agoura Road between Kanan and Cornell roads will not be widened and traffic will be slower. Flow in that area is projected at level "D," officials said.
"We do not want cars whizzing by," Kamino said. The goal for the area is to make it "pedestrian friendly," he said.
Cook said the plan includes the worst case scenario and doesn't account for people walking in and out of the village area.
One person at the meeting suggested the proposed roundabout was a ruse to eventually install a sixlane intersection.
"...The intent of a roundabout is to facilitate the movement of traffic," Rishoff said.
Altmann said the 45-foot-high, three-story buildings allowed by the plan-which are a violation of the city's 35-foot height limit-would be made possible if developers provide a "bonus" to the city such as public art, creek restoration, horse trails or other projects.
The design elements required under the Specific Plan will force developers to include balconies and elements that present a more varied look than a master-planned mall.
And while opponents worried about density problems, officials say the Agoura Village "floor area ratio" (the size of a building compared to its lot) is about one-third less intense than what is allowed under the city's current General Plan.
"It won't be a massive, monumental look," Cook said.
The city's goal is to allow the project to develop "organically," and to avoid a "cookiecutter" design, Cook said.