Supervisors Extend Building Limits in Malibou Lake

Los Angeles County supervisors, concerned about fire danger, extended a partial building moratorium Tuesday for an isolated residential area in the Santa Monica Mountains through February.

Despite protests from owners of land in Malibou Lake who want to develop their property, Supervisor Ed Edelman, who earlier convinced his colleagues to support a 45-day building ban that would have ended Thursday, said the additional time is necessary for county officials to come up with development guidelines for the region.

“Right now, there is a fire hazard . . . because of the lack of access to the area,” Edelman said. “We have to give the Planning Department and the Fire Department a chance to come up with some options.”

After nearly two hours of testimony and discussion, all five supervisors voted for more intense scrutiny of applications to build in Malibou Lake through Feb. 24.

Malibou Lake is a community of about 180 houses surrounded by dry brush and narrow roads, located 20 minutes south of the Ventura Freeway near Agoura Hills. As pressure to develop the outskirts of Los Angeles has increased, residents have become worried that houses would be built on all 460 vacant lots.

At Tuesday’s board meeting, several longtime residents spoke in support of the moratorium. Mary Altmann, secretary of the local homeowners’ association, said it is “absolutely necessary to the preservation of health, safety and welfare.”

Edelman and representatives of the county fire department emphasized that the action is not a complete moratorium because new construction will be allowed if it meets strict fire safety standards, including off-street parking and wider roads.

But those who own vacant lots said they suspect that no one will be able to satisfy the fire department.

“It’s effectively a condemnation, so all of our lots lose value,” said Phyllis Daugherty, who purchased land in the area in 1976.

Daugherty and other opponents of the moratorium urged Edelman to cut the ban back to six months.

“Otherwise, this could go on and on . . . for three years,” she said.

Ed Kritzler of Glendale told the supervisors that he had used most of his retirement money to buy a lot in Malibou Lake a year ago.

Kritzler said he already had started the permit application process with the county.

Believing the ban would delay construction of Kritzler’s dwelling, the supervisors discussed exempting him.

But they later agreed that his project should receive equal treatment with others.

After the hearing, Kritzler said he actually does not plan to live in the house he wants to build in Malibou Lake. Instead, he hopes to sell it to increase his retirement income.