Old Agoura Seeking to Preserve Rustic Tone

The handful of people who moved into Agoura’s first subdivision in 1924 were promised independence and elbow room by the Colodny brothers--a pair of developers who promoted one-acre parcels as perfect sites for chicken ranches and truck farms.

For 50 years, the tract the Colodnys named “Independence Acres” delivered exactly that. Modest ranch houses, cottages and corrals were scattered along unpaved roads in a valley a mile north of the Ventura Freeway but light years from single-family housing tracts that were springing up elsewhere in Agoura.

Thursday, representatives of the 360 families who now call their neighborhood “Old Agoura” appealed to Agoura Hills city officials for help in preserving the eclecticism of the area, which is being pressed by urbanization.

But that prompted a warning from the man who has lived in Old Agoura longer than anyone else that homeowners may end up looking like “yokels” if all of their ideas are accepted by the city.

Two Months of Study

The call for preservation came from a 10-member committee that has spent two months studying the future needs of Old Agoura for the Agoura Hills City Council. Old Agoura covers about a fourth of the eight-square-mile city in the Conejo Valley.

“People who live here have come here to get into this old, rustic environment,” said Thom Bancroft, head of the committee. “We clearly like the rural atmosphere here.”

Bancroft’s panel urged city planning commissioners Thursday night to waive the city’s street-light requirements for developments in Old Agoura, and to substitute earthen berms for roadside curbs and gutters. The group asked that, instead of sidewalks, a network of bridle paths be built.

The panel suggested that a cluster of 1925-era storefronts that once served as “downtown” Agoura be preserved and turned into a pedestrian-oriented tourist center.

Overused Description

“I wish there was another word for it because this one is so overused. But rural is still the best word for what we’re trying to save out here,” said Pat MacGregor, a nine-year resident of Old Agoura who served on Bancroft’s committee.

MacGregor said the committee avoided making specific recommendations about architectural design--perhaps requirements for wooden fences or earth-toned houses--because “Old Agoura is about independence” and such rules “wouldn’t go over out here.”

But a ban on street lights, and such things as a guarantee that horses, chickens, rabbits and pigs will always be welcome in the area are things residents will appreciate, she said.

“I had some friends who moved here and didn’t like the darkness at night and the lack of sidewalks. When their daughter got a horse, they didn’t like the flies. So they moved back to Canoga Park. Old Agoura isn’t for everybody. The unmanicured look isn’t for everybody. But it’s for us.”

Cool Reception

Surprisingly, the committee’s recommendations received a cool reception Thursday from the person with the longest tenure in the community, 51-year resident Bob Boyd.

Boyd, 80, is former postmaster of the town and a one-time fix-it shop owner who rented space in the town’s first storefront building. He said he favors replacing the aging, tile-roofed structure with something more modern.

“I think they’re a little bit stupid about the whole thing,” Boyd said of the committee’s recommendations.

“Street-corner lights are very necessary. And they ought to let those old buildings become new development. If they don’t, the damn place will look freakish. People will come down the freeway and see that old stuff and say we must be yokels or something. It burns me up.”

The committee recommendations were praised, however, by City Manager Michael Huse. He said planning commissioners will forward them to the City Council for consideration in January.

Individuality’s the Word

“The challenge facing the city is to do all we can to make sure the character of that area is retained,” Huse said. “If there’s one word to describe Old Agoura, it’s individuality. You see very expensive homes next to some that are less extravagant.”

Paul Williams, the city’s planning director, said the committee’s recommendations call for preserving “the flavor of the area” while allowing development.

“They’ve come up with some very good ideas. The feeling in Old Agoura seems to be almost universal that people moved there because of the flavor and they want to preserve it,” Williams said.