Pause in Construction Ordered for Corridor

In an effort to step back and take a look at the impact and direction of future development on a highly traveled stretch of Las Virgenes Road, the city of Calabasas will begin drafting a specific plan for the area.

As a result, the City Council at a meeting Wednesday night approved a moratorium on building along the corridor from Thousand Oaks Boulevard to the city boundary, on the north and south sides of the Ventura Freeway.

During the 45 days the halt order will be in effect, city officials will hear from the community and decide what types of future developments would be allowed there.

“That area has old stuff, and they’re not well placed,” Mayor Lesley Devine said. “Growth there has been willy-nilly under the county. We’re trying to stop and take a good look at it, and plan for a productive area that works well and looks good.”

City officials also are concerned that several proposed projects are not consistent with the draft development codes that were approved by the Planning Commission.

Marilyn Miller, interim planning director, said there are several parcels that can be developed and the city wants to have a hand in determining what those developments might be.

Devine said many community members have complained that there are too many stores there serving the needs of travelers along the freeway rather than the needs of the neighborhood.

As a result, the area has a number of gas stations and fast-food restaurants, but no grocery or drug stores.

Miller also said the specific plan is needed to get a good picture of what the corridor will have to deal with given the changes the area has seen since the city’s general plan was established.

Among the concerns are the traffic impacts that might come with the development of Ahmanson Ranch and the expansion of Soka University, two things that were unknown when the city drafted the General Plan, but which are now moving toward reality.