Planners Delay Vote on Project in Calabasas

In an unusual twist to the slow-growth movement, Calabasas residents said yes Wednesday to construction of a $150-million hotel and office project next to their homes--but Los Angeles County officials said no.

County planning commissioners said they won’t approve the project until they are convinced that the Ahmanson Commercial Development Co. isn’t trying to cram too much onto a 67-acre site next to exclusive Calabasas Park.

Ahmanson officials unveiled development plans for commissioners Wednesday after spending 2 years negotiating with homeowners over the project.

The proposal calls for construction of 13 buildings, eight above-ground parking structures and five surface-level parking lots at the southeast corner of Calabasas Road and Parkway Calabasas.

Project Endorsed

Leaders of the influential Calabasas Park Homeowners Assn. endorsed the 1.7-million-square-foot project when Ahmanson executives promised to preserve a ridge next to the neighborhood and prevent traffic jams in the area.

Ahmanson acquired the steeply sloping site after previous landowners provoked neighborhood outrage with a plan to bulldoze the ridge, which serves as a visual and noise buffer between Calabasas Park and the Ventura Freeway.

“Within 15 minutes of hearing that they planned to cut down the hill, residents took up a collection and handed $28,000 to us to start the fight to block it,” said Myra Turek, president of the Calabasas Park homeowners group.

Turek said a development agreement signed by Ahmanson preserves the ridge as open space. The pact calls for a halt in construction of the 8-year project if initial phases create traffic jams, she said.

More Details Asked

Nonetheless, planning commissioners told Ahmanson officials they want more details on traffic-control measures before they consider giving commercial zoning to the site.

Commissioner Clinton C. Ternstrom called for explanations of how 4-, 5- and 6-story buildings will be placed on the land and what they will be used for--including the 250-room hotel and conference center that Ahmanson envisions as the project’s centerpiece.

“We have to be very careful about how traffic will be handled--and the general massiveness of this project,” commission member Lee Strong added.

Commission President Betty Fisher asked Ahmanson Vice President William Loadvine to return Nov. 30 with that information.