Traffic Study for Proposed Ridgeline Project Urged

Two City Council members hope a traffic study will help them reach agreement with a developer that otherwise might build homes on a pristine ridgeline.

West Pointe Homes of Calabasas recently agreed to consider cutting by nearly 30% the number of homes it plans to build on 350 acres north of Casey Road.

But two council members negotiating with the developer say they want hard numbers from a traffic study before deciding if that is acceptable to the city.

“In order to make a reasoned decision, you do a traffic study,” said Mayor Pat Hunter, who with Councilman Bernardo Perez is working with the developer.

The councilmen plan to bring up the project at the council meeting Wednesday, when the developer is scheduled to ask the city for changes to the city General Plan, revisions needed before it could build 250 homes on the property.

The project involves a prominent ridgeline in north Moorpark that a number of residents want protected from development.

Before passage of city laws to protect ridges from development, West Pointe Homes received permission nine years ago to build 66 homes, including 23 along the ridge.

After pleas from residents to save the ridgeline, the developer agreed to avoid that portion of the property, provided it had permission to build many more homes on the remainder of the land than initially planned.

The developer earlier this year asked for a sixfold increase, to 420 homes, then scaled the number back to 350. The city in March asked for a further reduction but did not specify the number of homes. The developer came up with the number 250 in April, Perez said.

If the city and developer cannot reach final agreement, West Pointe may proceed with its original 66-home plan--including construction on the ridge, Perez said.

Vince Daly, a representative for West Pointe, described the figure of 250 homes as fair, but declined to say if the company would carry out its original building plan if the two sides cannot agree.

The latest application would call for preserving 70% of the land, or 242 acres.

Conceding they are not sure what the best number is for the project, the two councilmen agreed a study was required to determine how much traffic would be generated by both the original 66 houses and 250 homes, as well as by a project size between those numbers, Perez said.

“I can’t speak for the council as a whole, but there are times when it’s difficult to quantify a number that would be acceptable,” Perez said. “How do I know that 250 is a good number or that is better than 275 or 175?”

A traffic study, he said, would help determine which number of homes is too extreme based on traffic generated on Walnut Canyon Road, Perez said.