County Bars Demolition at Historic Site in Calabasas

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to temporarily block demolition of a building in historic Old Town Calabasas that a developer wants to replace with a three-story office structure.

Preservationists say they are worried that the builder’s plans would damage the Old West flavor of the village, a former stagecoach stop, which straddles Calabasas Road. The last vestiges of the village are the 146-year-old Leonis Adobe and a handful of turn-of-the-century wooden buildings, including the one that was slated for demolition this week.

The building was at one time an inn for hunters and for decades was a small grocery store. It was especially popular with children who stopped by on their horses for soda and candy.

In recent years, the building at 23504 Calabasas Road has been used for many purposes, including, variously, a restaurant, yogurt shop and beauty salon, said Alice Stelle, president of the Calabasas Historical Society.

Referring to the developer’s plans to demolish the structure to construct an office building, Supervisor Mike Antonovich said, “If allowed to take place, this action would spell the end of what is truly a special and unique area.”

The emergency ordinance, which was approved unanimously, revoked the demolition permit granted by the county to the developer, Tandam Builders Inc. of Santa Monica. The ordinance requires that the builder argue his case for a new permit before the county Regional Planning Commission.

With its vote, the board also made it more difficult to destroy any buildings in the Old Town area in the future. Anyone with such plans will have to receive the approval of the planning commission.

This is not the first time that preservationists have fought against a perceived encroachment on Old Town. Homeowner groups recently filed a lawsuit against Caltrans in an attempt to block a planned Ventura Freeway interchange that would force removal of many old trees and route more traffic through Old Town. Residents recently held an auction with some items donated by celebrities to raise money for the litigation.

Preservationists hailed Tuesday’s board action, which was prompted by a request from the Las Virgenes Homeowners Federation.

Myra Turek, president of the Calabasas Park Homeowners Assn., who said she has seen plans for the office building, said the contemporary structure would be more appropriate on Wilshire Boulevard or Rodeo Drive.

“I took one look, and I couldn’t continue looking at it,” Turek said. “It upset me so greatly that that would go into Old Town Calabasas.”

A spokesman for Tandam, which earlier promised homeowners that it would explore modifying the design so that the building would blend in better with its surroundings, said he was shocked by the vote. Joel Kirschenstein, a Westlake Village-based consultant for the builder, said Tuesday that he was prepared to testify against the revocation of the permit but was assured by Antonovich’s office that the matter would not be on the agenda.

He said if the county wants to save the building, it should buy it.

“It’s a building that’s old, obsolete, it’s not in code, it’s a firetrap, it’s vacant,” Kirschenstein said. “What are we going to do?”

There is actually little left of the original building, Stelle said. Several years ago, it was torn down, although its facade was saved.