5 Council Members Are Sworn In as Calabasas Marks Debut as a City : Celebration: New officials have been working since last month’s election to take care of all the details of setting up the municipality.

The new city of Calabasas, approved by voters March 5, opened for business Friday night, debuting at a City Council meeting marked by ceremony and celebration.

But although the city was not a recognized government entity until 7:54 p.m.--when Don Wallace, a representative of County Supervisor Ed Edelman, presented a “certificate of completion” to the council--Calabasas’ council members-elect already have been at work. They were laying the foundations for the city government to be ready to serve its citizens Monday, albeit from a phone number at the Chamber of Commerce.

During the four weeks preceding the inauguration of the new city, they have negotiated contracts with county officials for sheriff’s, fire and other municipal services. They have hired an interim city manager and an interim city attorney. They have bought insurance.

They have discussed development policy. They have met with citizens groups. They are working with state Sen. Ed Davis (R-Santa Clarita) to immediately obtain $563,000 in property tax dollars that under current state law they would not receive until next January.

“The past four weeks seem like a jillion years,” said Councilman Marvin Lopata. “So much has happened; so much has transpired.”

Work began March 6, the day after Calabasas residents voted overwhelmingly for the community to become an independent city and selected five people--Lesley Devine, Karyn Foley, Bob Hill, Lopata and Dennis Washburn--to serve on the first City Council. Since then, the council members-elect have met an average of four or five times a week.

“The last month has been exhausting,” Devine said. “Once we take office then, boom, all the services that have been provided by the county have to be transferred to the city.”

One of the group’s first responsibilities was to contract with the county for basic services--such as fire and police protection, animal control, and--most notably--planning.

It was frustration over what they saw as county officials’ laissez-faire attitude toward growth and development that prompted residents more than 10 years ago to begin their fight for independence.

Despite that historical dissatisfaction, council members-elect decided to contract with the county for planning services--at least initially.

Lopata said that the community’s planning problems before incorporation stemmed from what Calabasas officials felt was the supervisors’ proclivity to develop land, not from inherent flaws in the county planning staff.

“The county has some of the best engineers in the country. Their department is wonderful, it’s just who controls the department,” Lopata said. “Before, they answered to the county supervisors, but now they are going to be answering to the City Council. They become our employees, and they cannot do something just because a supervisor wants it done.”

Another factor in the decision, he said, was that the soon-to-be council members had little time to review bids by private urban planning firms after the election. However, he said, the group plans to review such bids for the next fiscal year, which begins in July.

The council members elected Washburn the first mayor. They hired Ed Kriens, the retired city manager of Beverly Hills, as interim city manager, and Charles (Casey) Vose, the attorney who represented the Calabasas Cityhood Committee, as interim city attorney.

None of these actions were binding, however, until the council members were sworn in by Superior Court Judge Richard Kolostian and ratified the contracts Friday night.

The festive first council meeting was held in the auditorium of Calabasas High School, decorated for the occasion with red, white and blue balloons. About 480 people turned out for the celebration, which included a high school band, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and congratulations from other government officials, including state Sen. Gary K. Hart, (D-Santa Barbara).

The main order of business was adoption as city ordinances of all county ordinances that currently govern the community so that there would be laws in effect at the city’s birth.

Lopata said that those ordinances will be reviewed later by the council, which may revise or drop some.

Although his appointment was not confirmed until Friday night, interim City Manager Kriens also has been at work buying stationary, pencils and other basic supplies and looking for interim City Hall office space. For the time being, citizens calling their city government will get an answering machine in the Chamber of Commerce office.

Kriens has consulted with the office of Sen. Davis, who has promised to write legislation that will enable the new city to immediately claim $563,000 in property taxes paid to the county.

Present state law requires a newly incorporated city to wait until Jan. 1 of the year after incorporation to claim property tax revenues from the county. But Calabasas officials say they need the money to ensure that their city runs smoothly during its initial eight months, and asked Davis to help them get the funds immediately.

Diamond Bar, incorporated about three years ago, received such an exemption, and Davis has also written legislation to help the newly incorporated city of Malibu with the same problem.

The County Board of Supervisors, at Kriens’ request, agreed Tuesday not to obstruct Calabasas’ efforts to claim the money.

City officials have had other tasks as well, ranging from locating an insurance company for the new municipality to deciding on a time for regular council meetings--the first and third Wednesday of every month.

“We have done a monumental amount of work,” Lopata said. “I cannot begin to estimate the amount of hours involved. But when Monday morning comes around, if somebody in the city wants to know something, we will know it.”