Homeowners Coalition Studied

An Agoura Hills slow-growth activist wants to organize homeowner groups from Calabasas to Thousand Oaks into a watchdog coalition to monitor development in western Los Angeles County and eastern Ventura County.

Members would share information about proposed projects that could affect traffic congestion and air pollution in both counties, organizer Mary Weisbrock said.

Groups considering joining the coalition met last week in Thousand Oaks. Another meeting is planned in February.

Meeting of Groups

Attending were delegates from the Las Virgenes Homeowners Federation--whose membership includes 17 residents’ groups in the Agoura, Calabasas and Malibu areas--and the Westlake Joint Board--whose membership includes 42 residents’ groups in the Westlake Village and Thousand Oaks areas. A third organization, the Thousand Oaks-based League of Conejo Homeowners Assns., did not attend but plans to be involved, its president said.

Presidents of the three organizations said their governing boards have not yet voted to become actively involved in Weisbrock’s coalition, but they said their groups are interested.

‘We Are a Corridor’

Elois Zeanah, president of the Conejo league, said the groups on both sides of the county line should form a joint organization “because what happens in one county now in terms of traffic does affect the other county--we are a corridor.”

Weisbrock said: “We’re worried about regionwide impacts of these massive projects that are being proposed on both sides of the county line. . . . What’s about to happen is our quality of life in the area is about to be drastically altered.”

Weisbrock cited five development proposals that she said illustrate her point:

Jordan Ranch in Ventura County, where Potomac Investment Associates wants to build 1,154 houses.

Ahmanson Ranch in Ventura County, where H.F. Ahmanson & Co. plans to build 3,000 homes and a 3-million-square-foot industrial park.

A Las Virgenes Properties project to include 120 homes and 1,700 apartments or condominiums on unincorporated Los Angeles County land northwest of the Calabasas Landfill.

A Potomac Investment project that calls for 94 homes and 89 acres of commercial space east of Agoura Hills and north of the Ventura Freeway.

A Baldwin Co. project in which 1,500 homes and some stores are to be built south of the freeway in Calabasas.

David Brown, president of the Las Virgenes Homeowners Federation, estimates that the five projects would generate about 160,000 vehicle trips a day. If the land on which the projects would be built is developed under current zoning regulations, 14,700 vehicle trips would result, Brown estimates.

Coordinate Efforts

Weisbrock said one goal of the coalition would be to prompt planners and elected officials in both counties to coordinate efforts.

Peter N. Kyros Jr., general counsel of the Potomac development firm, bristled at the idea that county governments are not sensitive to how Potomac projects affect the region.

“It’s a fallacy nowadays to assume that the jurisdictions we’re talking about are not going to coordinate,” Kyros said.

But Keith Turner, Ventura County planning director, said there has been little coordination between the counties, although Ventura County plans to send copies of virtually all documents relating to the Jordan Ranch and Ahmanson Ranch proposals to Los Angeles County planners.

“We’re sort of in a new era of the need for coordination, because of the conditions of both air quality and traffic on the 101 Freeway,” Turner said. “We really need to know what each other is up to.”