Bill to Aid Incorporation Goes to Governor : Calabasas’ Future May Hinge on Haste

A bill clearing the way for Calabasas to become a city went to Gov. George Deukmejian on Thursday, delighting cityhood proponents; but, unless the governor acts by Wednesday, the legislation may not help their cause.

The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Ed Davis (R-Valencia), is expected to cut the city’s fire protection costs from $1 million to $30,000 or less.

The fire protection expense created a deficit in the would-be city’s budget, jeopardizing chances for approval of the incorporation request.

Calabasas activists have complained that the $1 million a year Los Angeles County wants to charge the new city for protecting its brush-covered rural areas is drastically inflated. The legislation that went to Deukmejian would forbid the county to charge more than the far-lower amount that the state charges local governments to provide fire protection.

‘Calabasas Has New Hope’

“That’s just great news,” said Doris LaViolette, a leader of the Calabasas Cityhood Study Committee. “Calabasas has new hope.”

But the catch is that Davis and the cityhood group want the governor to sign the bill before 9 a.m. Wednesday.

That’s when the Local Agency Formation Commission, also known as LAFCO, is expected to decide whether to kill the cityhood drive or endorse an election. LAFCO oversees incorporations in Los Angeles County.

According to a deadline dictated by state law, the commission must act on the incorporation proposal by Wednesday. The LAFCO staff is recommending that cityhood be denied because a new financial report--using the county’s high figure for fire protection--indicates that the city would suffer a $236,763 deficit in its first year.

Davis said the governor is expected to sign the legislation, which unanimously passed the Assembly on Thursday. But it is unknown if the commission will take that assurance into consideration if the governor fails to sign it by Wednesday.

No Assumptions

Ruth Benell, LAFCO executive director, said that it cannot be assumed that the governor will sign anything.

“While Ed Davis might be pressuring him to sign it, the Board of Supervisors might be pressuring him to not sign it,” Benell said.

The bill’s passage was the first good news the committee has received since being socked with a one-two punch earlier this week.

The latest LAFCO report discounted the cityhood committee’s claim that the proposed municipality would enjoy a surplus of nearly $700,000.

Also, major property holders began clamoring to be excluded from the city limits.

Some Don’t Want City

The Baldwin Co. and the Morrison Entity, which plan to build about 1,600 homes in the area, sent letters to the commission asking to be removed from the city boundaries. Morrison Entity has the backing of the city of Hidden Hills, which fears that Calabasas will gobble up property that it might want to annex.

Also, the Montevideo Country Club and a mobile home park have asked to be excluded from the city limits.

The developers said they support incorporation but want to be excluded because it might delay their projects for years. Baldwin is in escrow to buy 1,300 acres of hilly property zoned for no more than 140 homes. The Irvine-based company wishes to construct 1,500 homes, drawing protests from area residents concerned about environmental damage and congestion.

“If the people within the Calabasas area would like to incorporate their area, and they can do it financially, we support that,” James M. Harter, Baldwin’s director of planning, said. “We don’t wish to antagonize them and oppose the incorporation. However, we do not wish to be included in it.”

Cityhood supporters complained that the developers waited until the last moment to voice their complaints. But the developers said they did not speak during public hearings because they assumed LAFCO would kill the incorporation drive.

In fact, the commission’s preliminary approval of the incorporation last month seemed to catch all participants by surprise. At a crucial commission meeting July 22, supporters showed up with black armbands, expecting their proposal to be killed. But, in a stunning move, the commission ignored Benell’s recommendation and tentatively approved the incorporation of the 14-square-mile area. The commissioners stipulated that their vote would hinge on the new financial projections for the proposed city.

The proposed city of 21,000 would be bounded by Woodland Hills on the east and Agoura Hills on the west. It would encompass Calabasas Highlands, Calabasas Park, Malibu Canyon Park, Mulwood and Saratoga Hills.