Calabasas : Compromise Resolves Subdivision Dispute

Developer Jim Baldwin has reached a compromise with a Calabasas homeowners group over his proposal to add 110 units to a 550-unit residential subdivision under construction at the end of Parkway Calabasas.

The influential Calabasas Park Homeowners Assn. has long refused to endorse that many homes, saying they would bring too much noise and traffic into their neighborhood, near Baldwin’s subdivision.

On Friday, after months of negotiations, association President Bill Pohle and city officials said the two sides have agreed on 40 additional units. The Calabasas City Council, which has final say, is tentatively scheduled to vote on the matter Jan. 17.

Pohle said Baldwin has agreed to pay the homeowners association $250,000 to mitigate the impact of the additional units on Parkway Calabasas. Officials from Baldwin Co.-Village Properties could not be reached for comment Friday.

Earlier this year, Baldwin began seeking permits from the city to build the additional units after his plans fell through to build 124 homes at another project, called the Calabasas Promenade, on Las Virgenes Road in Calabasas. The developer of that project, Pam Azar, plans to go through with her portion of the project, a Hughes market and a Home Depot.

The association believes its agreement with Baldwin is best for all concerned, Pohle said, because it preserves the scenery in the rolling hills behind the Calabasas Promenade, where Baldwin would have had to excavate huge portions of land to build his homes in the Azar project. And, Pohle said, the rest of the Azar project, although unpopular with some people, will benefit the city by generating significant sales tax revenues.