Residents Rally Against Freeway Overpass in Calabasas

The setting was pure Old West: people wearing Stetson hats and cowboy boots, drinking lemonade under an oak tree.

But the issues discussed at the gathering Saturday in Calabasas were pure New West: traffic, smog, overcrowding and other urban problems that residents fear will undermine their rustic community if a proposed freeway overpass is built next to the 145-year-old Leonis Adobe.

As part of the festivities, celebrities donated artworks that were auctioned to raise money for a lawsuit against Caltrans and federal transportation agencies, which plan to build a $40-million “flyover bridge” above the Ventura Freeway. The bridge would connect two-lane Calabasas Road on the south side of the freeway with four-lane Ventura Boulevard on the north.

Transportation officials say the road is needed to relieve traffic congestion on the Valley Circle Boulevard bridge over the freeway. The bridge would be replaced by the overpass under the agencies’ plan.

Opponents say the connection would turn Calabasas Road into an extension of busy Ventura Boulevard and ruin the ambience of Old Town Calabasas--a two-block collection of clapboard storefronts that developed around the adobe about 75 years ago.

The lawsuit, filed in December by the nonprofit Leonis Adobe Assn., charges that the agencies failed to prepare environmental impact reports for the flyover. Officials of the agencies could not be reached for comment Saturday.

The high point of the event came when actor Dennis Weaver re-enacted a pro-environment speech that he originally gave as the fictional character Sam McCloud in a recent television movie. Though the speech made no reference to the fight against the overpass, its admonition to respect the environment set the tone for the day’s event.

“The greatest issue . . . that we all face is how do we save our common home--this Earth upon which we all live,” the 64-year-old actor said. “There is absolutely nothing that we can’t do if . . . we get our priorities straight.”

About 200 people attended the event, which was organized by the Red River Gallery, an art gallery. Kristene Richter, co-owner of the gallery, said about 50 paintings, plus autographed photos of movie stars, were donated for the auction. Many pieces were donated by local celebrities, and others were given by the artists themselves, she said.

“The Leonis Adobe will be this little thing surrounded by cement and exhaust fumes,” if the overpass is built, said actress Sharon Farrell, who painted some of the donated art pieces. “Sure, they say they’re not going to touch the Leonis Adobe, but they’re going to take away the spirit. They’re going to cut away its heart.”