CALABASAS : Deadline Extended for Land-Use Plan

Calabasas has been given an extended deadline to complete a community land-use plan that will determine the future of the city’s remaining hillsides and oak groves.

When completed, the land-use plan will be a milestone in the short history of this city. Calabasas incorporated in 1991 in large part so its residents could have more control over development and keep its bedroom community character, said Steven Harris, the city’s director of community development.

“This sets down on paper what the community’s beliefs are and how people want the community to grow,” Harris said. “This is every development decision, every budget decision . . . . It’s not just a map of where buildings will go, it’s a statement of policies and goals for what kind of community Calabasas is going to be.”

Calabasas missed an October deadline to complete the state-mandated general plan, but was granted a one-year extension from the state in December.

An 18-member citizens committee has been meeting since the fall of 1992 to complete a draft of the plan. The draft will be presented to the public in a series of workshops beginning next month. Hearing dates have not yet been scheduled.

Calabasas still has more undeveloped land within the city than it has developed land, Harris said.

Of the city’s 8,300 acres, about 5,700 are vacant, he said. Most of that land still retains the agricultural zoning it had under Los Angeles County regulations. Harris said the designation is, in essence, a “holding zone” typical of land slated to someday be developed for commercial use.

Many Calabasas residents who supported incorporation wanted to slow the pace of office and industrial development in the area. That desire is reflected in the nearly completed draft plan, which attempts to limit commercial development to a few key areas.

“I think what’s going to happen is we will see much lower intensity development than what L.A. County allowed,” Harris said.

Calabasas Park Center will continue to function as the city’s downtown, and will very likely see more office development under the draft plan, Harris said. The plan also includes provisions for stricter environmental oversight of hillside grading and removal of oak trees, he said.