Lawsuit Claims County OK of Project Illegal

A Calabasas homeowner association has filed a lawsuit against Los Angeles County, claiming that the Board of Supervisors violated state environmental law by approving a proposal to build 550 houses, a store and a church on rugged land in the new city.

The lawsuit filed by the Calabasas Park Homeowners Assn. claims that the approval of a special tax assessment district as part of the development agreement with The Baldwin Co. was illegal because the environmental impact report did not address the costs and benefits of such a district.

The suit seeks to force the board to reconsider the project.

Acting on a last-minute request of the developer, the supervisors agreed in February to set up the financing district under the Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act, which authorizes local governments to sell bonds to finance community improvements, then tax future property owners in the district to repay the debt.

Myra Turek, president of the association, said the California Environmental Quality Act requires analysis and public comment on funding methods involved in a development project prior to the project’s approval.