Calabasas to Get $4.5 Million in Property Tax Windfall : Finances: City is expected to receive money from county over 11 years. Claim was filed last year.

The city of Calabasas is expected to receive a previously unanticipated $4.5 million in property tax revenues from Los Angeles County over the next 11 years because of an agreement over how to calculate the tax share owed to new cities.

The agreement comes after Calabasas officials filed a claim against the county in May, asserting that recent state legislation entitled newly incorporated cities to a greater share of property taxes.

“The formulas for calculating the shares are very complex,” said City Manager Charles Cate. “But it basically means more money that could be used toward the redevelopment of Old Town, park improvements, a regional library . . . or simply for putting into reserves for future bad times.”

Calabasas, which incorporated in 1991, has an operating budget of about $5.7 million.

At its regular meeting last Wednesday, the City Council unanimously approved the deal. The first installment of about $300,000 from the county is expected this fiscal year, Cate said.

At the meeting, the City Council also denied an application for a carwash on the corner of Calabasas Road and Parkway Calabasas because of concerns that the project would cause traffic snarls and the destruction of two giant oak trees and several smaller ones.

The council voted unanimously against the project, agreeing with a Planning Commission opinion that expanding the Unocal 76 station to include a carwash was inappropriate for the site.

“The traffic flow that would be created by this project just would not work there,” Mayor Marvin Lopata said. “I know that the city could use a carwash, but I don’t think it would be a safe situation at this location.”