Bid to Halt Calabasas Project Rejected

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has rejected complaints by Calabasas-area homeowners that a proposed 600-unit “affordable” apartment project will ruin the atmosphere of a semirural valley next to Malibu Creek State Park.

Supervisors voted Tuesday to reject homeowners’ appeal of a Regional Planning Commission action that last month authorized construction of the apartments by Van Nuys-based Lincoln Property Co.

Board members also approved some of the revenue-bond financing for the 53-acre project on Las Virgenes Road a mile south of the Ventura Freeway.

Lincoln officials are entitled to about $50 million in low-interest county bonds to finance the construction.

Planning commissioners voted Nov. 20 to grant a 120-unit density “bonus” for the project after Lincoln officials pledged to reserve those apartments for low- or moderate-income families at rents of $519 a month. Units will regularly rent for about $700 a month, the company said.

The project was opposed by the Las Virgenes Homeowners Federation, a coalition of 15 Calabasas and Agoura-area neighborhood groups. Federation President Dennis Washburn said the apartments would harm wildlife and destroy the environment of the valley, which leads into scenic Malibu Canyon.