CALABASAS : Community Gate Plan Up for Hearing

The Calabasas Planning Commission will hold a public hearing tonight on a proposal by Calabasas Hills residents to convert their neighborhood into a gated community.

Plans call for construction of a guard house and installation of a gate at the intersection of Paseo Primario and Calle Largo and at Paseo Primario near Camino Portal. The hearing will be at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall, 26135 Mureau Road.

A few residents have voiced opposition, but most appear to favor the idea, said Shirley Greenberg, head of the the Calabasas Hills Community Assn., which represents 488 homeowners.

“We are the only ungated community” in the area, she said, “and we would just like to conform with the rest of the community.”

To win city approval, the applicant must show that the project does not impede traffic flow through the city and that it is consistent with the city’s General Plan, said Calabasas Community Development Director Steve Harris.

The residents must also show that the gates will not block access to nearby Bay Laurel School, on Paseo Primero near Calle Largo.

“If the community wishes to do that, they should have the right,” said City Councilwoman Karyn Foley, who lives in Vista Point, a gated community nearby. “This should be their decision to make.”

Foley and Greenberg said they have been meeting with Calabasas Hills residents to help them resolve some of their concerns, including the added cost to their homeowner association fees. Greenberg said it would cost homeowners an additional $40 a month.

Las Virgenes Unified School District officials say they will not oppose the plan as long as their concerns are addressed. They have set certain conditions, including that the gates be opened to the public whenever additional parking is needed for school activities, and that construction not interfere with school activities.

Calabasas’ city engineer and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department officials said the gates won’t pose traffic hazards, according to district officials.