Planners Advance Malibou Lakes Home-Stable Project

The Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission gave tentative approval Thursday to a developer’s plan to build 15 single-family homes and a horse stable on the site of a run-down former celebrity vacation retreat in Agoura.

The commission’s 3-2 vote came after several homeowners objected that the project would clash with the rural atmosphere of their neighborhood, known as Malibou Lakes. They also argued that more houses would bring increased flood and fire danger and that more horses could pollute nearby Malibu Lake.

G. Greg Aftergood, attorney for the Malibou Lakeside Homeowners Assn., told the commission that construction of sewers for the 15 homes would open the door to more intensive development.

But Arthur K. Snyder, attorney for developer and Malibou Lakes resident Jack Slome, contended that the homeowners’ arguments “all boil down to the fact that nobody wants any more neighbors.”

The sewers are designed to serve only the 15 homes in the Slome project, said Snyder, a former Los Angeles city councilman.

The project is planned for 4.6 acres occupied by the dilapidated Malibou Lakeside Lodge, which has been condemned and is boarded up. The lodge was built in the 1920s and was a retreat for such movie stars as Clark Gable and Carole Lombard. Slome bought the site about two years ago.

“This particular project is going to improve the situation,” Commissioner Lee Strong said.

Also voting for the project were Sadie Clark and Paul Robinson. Voting against were Betty Fisher and Clinton Ternstrom.

The commissioners endorsed Slome’s plan and voted down a motion to delay a decision so that an environmental impact report could be prepared.

Principal Deputy County Counsel Charles J. Moore had suggested such a report as a precautionary move if the homeowners later challenge the Slome project in court. But a majority of the commissioners said the last-minute, six-month delay would be unfair to Slome.

The commission, however, imposed some restrictions on the project. Slome had sought permission for 30 horses in the project, but the commission reduced that number to 15. The commission also told Slome to eliminate street lights and widen the development’s sole access road.

The commission’s tentative approval means that the zoning and plan changes needed for the Slome project probably will be recommended to the county Board of Supervisors, which has final authority. The board is expected to consider the matter in June.