Agoura Hills Seeks to Add 120 Acres South of City

The City of Agoura Hills will seek to annex a 120-acre section of unincorporated Los Angeles County south of the city’s limits.

The City Council on Wednesday unanimously voted to ask the Los Angeles County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) for permission to annex the Liberty Canyon area. LAFCO is a county agency that regulates the formation of new cities and the annexation of territories by existing municipalities.

The City Council’s action came after 34 of 40 registered voters in the Liberty Canyon area signed petitions asking Agoura Hills to annex their neighborhood. The residents said that, by joining the city, they will have more voice in development decisions in the area, said City Manager David Carmany.

Land Is Privately Owned

Homes are on about 30 of the acres the city is seeking to annex, and the rest of the land is slated for future residential development, said Paul Williams, the city’s director of planning and community development. The land is privately owned, he said.

Before going to LAFCO, the city will be required to hold a series of public meetings and zoning hearings, a process expected to take about a month, Williams said.

Twelve of the 120 acres already are designated by LAFCO as within Agoura Hills’ sphere of influence. Spheres of influence discourage urban sprawl by reflecting the “probable ultimate physical boundaries” of cities, according to state law.

Before granting the annexation, LAFCO would have to extend the city’s sphere of influence to include the other 108 acres, said Michi Takahashi, an administrative assistant for the agency. The process would probably take six to eight months, she said.

In January, 1985, LAFCO turned down the city’s bid for a 6,000-acre sphere of influence extending from the Malibu Lake area in the Santa Monica Mountains south of the city and eastward to the middle of Las Virgenes Road.

But Takahashi said LAFCO “may look more favorably on the new annexation request since it is a smaller area” and since residents have requested the annexation.

“If a majority of the residents want it, they probably have a pretty good chance,” Takahashi said.

If LAFCO approved the annexation, the city would be required to hold another public hearing, she said.

The Liberty Canyon tract is in unincorporated county territory, but is accessible only by Agoura Hills streets, Williams said.