CALABASAS : Annexation Plan Moving Forward

Bouyed by a city study that says the move would be environmentally sound, the city of Calabasas is pressing forward with plans to annex the unincorporated community of Mountain Gate.

Mountain Gate residents, who petitioned for annexation, and city officials say they hope the move will prevent the Ahmanson Land Co. from turning two-lane Thousand Oaks Boulevard, which skirts their community, into a four-lane highway.

The county’s General Plan calls for a four-lane road, while the city’s proposed General Plan would leave the road as is.

“All we want to do is maintain our quality of life,” said William Bell, a spokesman for the Mountain View Estateowners Assn. “And we think we can do that if we join Calabasas.”

A public hearing on the proposed annexation is scheduled Wednesday at Calabasas City Hall.

Ahmanson Land wants to build 3,050 homes, two golf courses and 400,000 feet of commercial space in an area just to the north of Mountain Gate, a gated community north of the Ventura Freeway. Thousand Oaks Boulevard would be a main artery to the project.

Opponents say the Ahmanson project would negatively affect the area’s quality of life. Several lawsuits have been filed to block the development.

The homeowners association filed the annexation petition with Calabasas last April. The city forwarded it to the county Local Agency Formation Commission, which must approve the annexation. Ahmanson Land has challenged the annexation in court, and the case is pending.

The 823-acre Mountain Gate parcel was to be inside the original boundary of Calabasas, which incorporated in 1991, according to city officials. But a former partner of the developer, John Hurford, wanted to keep the area an unincorporated part of the county, believing that any remaining development permits needed would be easier to get from the county.

Mountain Gate residents have always felt like they were part of Calabasas, said Bell.

“We have a Calabasas ZIP code, 91302,” he said. “When we moved here, we thought we were living in Calabasas.”

Dave Brown, who is on the city’s Planning Commission, said Mountain Gate has the right to be annexed.

“If the folks in Mountain View want to be part of Calabasas, let them be part of Calabasas,” he said. “I don’t think the interests of some developer should stand in the way of that.”