CALABASAS : Draft General Plan Protects Open Space

Open-space preservation is the top priority in Calabasas’ proposed general land-use plan--a blueprint for future development that caps years of citizen activism in this newly incorporated city.

The draft plan, with its heavy emphasis on environmental preservation, attempts to address the very grievances that prompted residents here to fight for cityhood and local control in the late 1980s when Los Angeles County approved several large, controversial developments in the pristine hills of the Conejo Valley.

The activists won that battle in 1991 when the city incorporated, and the draft general plan is the first broad statement of what their hard-won local control will mean for future growth in Calabasas, said Steven Harris, Calabasas director of community development.

The draft plan is more than 250 pages long and addresses everything from housing to energy management to disaster response.

Throughout the plan, a single message is clear: protecting the local environment and maintaining Calabasas’ character as a semirural, bedroom community take priority over new development.

Bicycle paths, telecommuting, water conservation and recycling are all featured prominently in the plan, prepared by the Rancho Cucamonga-based planning firm, Planning Network.

The draft plan emphasizes that proposed buildings in town should not be evaluated as free-standing features, but as integrated parts of the whole community. Preserving of oak groves, ridges and hillsides, encouraging development of a pedestrian-oriented town center, and tailoring architecture to foster social interaction would be key considerations in approving new development.

The plan depicts a future Calabasas that is not drastically more populated than the city is today. It estimates a target population for the city of 31,800. Calabasas now has about 26,580 residents.

The projected population, based on calculations of desired densities on the remaining land in town to be developed, leaves little room for growth.

Although nearly two-thirds of the city’s land remains undeveloped, including many of the steep hillsides and oak groves, there are several large developments, including 3,000 proposed new homes, that have already received county approval, Harris said.

That leaves little room for new growth to be regulated by the general plan, Harris said. So, Calabasas officials are hoping the economic slump will prompt some of those with projects in the works to allow their county permits to expire, and start their permit process over with the city.

The proposed plan is scheduled to be reviewed over the next few months in a series of public hearings before the city Planning Commission and City Council. Harris estimates a final version will be approved early this summer.

The next scheduled hearing before the Planning Commission is at 7:30 p.m. April 7 at City Hall, 26135 Mureau Road.