Panel OKs Apartments in Calabasas Canyon

Acontroversial plan to build an apartment complex that would include “affordable” units in a 56-acre Calabasas canyon bottom was approved Wednesday by the Los Angeles County Planning Commission.

The 4-0 ruling is expected to be appealed by nearby homeowners, who for months have argued that the apartment site is geologically unstable, prone to flooding and isolated from services and shopping centers.

Phil Ramuno, president of the Malibu Canyon Park Homeowners Assn., said he would study a list of 39 conditions imposed by planners on builder Jack Bravo before deciding whether to file a protest with county supervisors.

Bravo had sought permission to build 800 units; homeowners urged commissioners to limit the project to 400 units.

Financing for the $60-million project would come from a county bond issue and a special affordable-housing “density bonus.” In exchange for the financing, Bravo must reserve 254 of the units as “affordable” rentals, with one-bedroom units renting for $461 per month.