CALABASAS : Las Virgenes Road Plan Denial Appealed

The developers of Ahmanson Ranch have asked the Calabasas City Council to overrule the Planning Commission and allow them to extend Las Virgenes Road about 15 feet to the Ventura County line.

The City Council will vote on Ahmanson Land Co.’s request Oct. 5 after a public hearing at City Hall at 7:30 p.m.

The city’s Planning Commission ruled Sept. 8 that the firm’s application was incomplete because it did not contain an application for a conditional-use permit and a site plan review.

The commission was acting on the recommendation of the city Planning Department staff, which argued that the special permits were needed because the road would go through an area that is part of the Las Virgenes Road Scenic Corridor.

If the council sides with the Planning Commission, Ahmanson has three alternatives, according to Steve Quintanilla, the city’s deputy city attorney. It can withdraw its application, submit the materials the Planning Department has requested or sue the city.

Ahmanson Land Co. wants to build 3,050 homes, two golf courses and 400,000 square feet of commercial space in a hilly area southeast of Simi Valley near the Los Angeles County border. Las Virgenes Road would be part of a major road system to the development.

Quintanilla said that all the hearings to date have centered on technical issues, not whether the development would be good for Calabasas.

“The Planning Commission hearing and City Council hearing are not looking at the merits of the projects,” he said. “We are just looking at whether the application is complete. Once the application is deemed complete, it will go through the regular review process.”

The city, Quintanilla said, had originally insisted that Ahmanson Land Co. get a special permit to remove oak trees, but dropped the condition when it was deemed that none would be affected.

City Councilman Bob Hill said this week that the city has “a fairly strict policy on how we review things.”

“I can only speak for me, but if the facts are found to be accurate, according to the policies that we review applications on, it might well be that the Planning Commission’s vote will stand,” Hill said.