City Council Wary of Specific Plan Changes

An proposed amendment to the Westlake North Specific Plan that would triple the number of permitted homes received a cool reception from Westlake Village City Council members, who questioned the cost effects on the city.

Following a presentation on the amendment Wednesday night, the council instructed city staff and the developer to come up with an analysis comparing the costs and benefits of the original 1989 plan, which permitted 179 homes, with the amendment, which would allow 540 homes.

“I need to see in writing what the cost benefits are,” Councilwoman Kris Carraway said.

“What benefits are there to our city that makes us want to approve this?”

The approved plan, anchored by a Price-Costco store now under construction, calls for 179 single-family homes to be built on the 130-acre property, along with commercial development and a four-acre park.

The amendment would increase the number of homes to a maximum of 540 by reducing the amount of commercial development and replacing the smaller park with a 10.55-acre park and elementary school.

Provisions for a school, sought by the school district, were not included in the original plan.

Council members said several residents spoke in opposition to the amendment while others favored the increased acreage for the park because it could contain several playing fields.

Mayor Pro Tem Doug Yarrow, who serves with Carraway on an ad hoc committee working with the developer, said he opposes the amendment, as well as the original plan.

“Sometimes no matter how much the project might have merit, it just doesn’t come in a package that meets the community’s needs,” he said Friday.

“The stars are not lined up properly and I don’t know if they can ever get lined up.”

The council is expected to review the amendment again during public hearings in late September or early October.