Public Hearing Slated on City General Plan

Controversial restrictions on hillside development and provisions for building more affordable housing are expected to be discussed Wednesday at the first public hearing before the City Council on Calabasas’ proposed General Plan.

The hearing will be at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall, 26135 Mureau Road.

The plan originally called for limiting construction to one home per 160 acres in hilly areas prone to natural disasters such as fires and mudslides.

But the Planning Commission, fearing lawsuits from property owners, revised it to one house per 40 acres, or, in areas deemed less hazardous, one house per 10 acres.

Some property owners say the restrictions violate property rights by preventing the sale of land to developers for a profit. City officials, however, say they are acting in the interest of public safety and point to instances in which cities have been sued by property owners whose homes were destroyed by mudslides.

“Some people have development plans in mind, and they want to make sure the plan will allow them to do what they have already decided to do,” said Dave Brown, a member of the Planning Commission. “That’s not the way a general plan is supposed to work.”

The plan also requires the city to act to obtain more affordable housing, an idea opposed by critics who say it would bring down property values.

City Councilwoman Karyn Foley, who represents the city at the Southern California Assn. of Governments, said the city has no choice.

“Affordable housing is a mandate,” she said.

But residents need not fear that affordable housing will bring down property values, she said.

“Affordable housing does not mean subsidized housing,” she said, “and it does not have to mean substandard housing.”