Local News in Brief : Agoura Hills’ City Council Adopts Growth Master Plan

A master plan containing strict development guidelines to protect Agoura Hills’ residential neighborhoods and preserve the ridge lines has been adopted by the City Council.

The council voted 4 to 0 this week on its first development plan ever, which officials and residents of the city 10 miles west of the San Fernando Valley have spent nearly two years writing.

Commercial development will be limited primarily to the Ventura Freeway and Kanan Road corridors under the plan. Residential subdivisions will be required to have design features and density similar to existing neighborhoods.

The master plan calls for a mostly low-rise look to the city. It suggests a general 35-foot height limitation on buildings, except in an area south of Agoura Road. There, said Paul Williams, city planning director, higher buildings can be proposed because of the backdrop formed by the 1,200-foot-tall Ladyface Mountain.

Williams said officials would use the master plan as a springboard for preparing specific zoning maps. Although the master plan is designed to guide growth for 20 years, state law will require the city to update it every five years, he said.