Public Input Sought on 207-Acre Project

The Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission will meet Tuesday in Calabasas to hear community comment about a commercial and residential project proposed between the Lost Hills and Las Virgenes entrances of the Ventura Freeway.

Calabasas officials are expected to question several aspects of the proposal, which they call “completely out of scale with the level and intensity of development” that the city is trying to achieve.

The project, Malibu Canyon Continental Communities, is proposed for 207 1/2 acres north of the Ventura Freeway, with a single-family home, 136 condominium units and approximately 256,000 square feet of commercial space, including a multiscreen movie theater.

“The size and scale of it is inappropriate for a neighborhood community,” said Steve Craig, the city’s environmental coordinator. “What the community needs is small-scale retail and what this is is a regional center.”

But representatives of the developer said the proposal is a sound one for the area, which is outside the city limits and governed by Los Angeles County.

Robert Zuckerman, president of Continental Communities Group, said he has met with Calabasas officials and the community a few times before and will work to alleviate their concerns.

“We’ve produced over 50 versions of this plan in trying to address those concerns,” he said. “I think we have a great plan, very environmentally sensitive, very appropriate.”

But some city officials disagree. They say that the project as proposed is too large for the area and not feasible for the hilly topography of the site.

“That is a geographically tough area,” Craig said. “What’s left in Calabasas to develop, like many other areas, is the most difficult land.”

The commission meeting will begin at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Calabasas High School, 22855 W. Mulholland Highway.