AGOURA DEVELOPMENT NIXED PLANS THREATENED OAK SAVANNA.Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer After three hours of testimony, Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County supervisors unanimously rejected a plan Tuesday to build 136 townhouses and a shopping center shopping center, a concentration of retail, service, and entertainment enterprises designed to serve the surrounding region. The modern shopping center differs from its antecedents—bazaars and marketplaces—in that the shops are usually amalgamated into on an oak-studded hill abutting the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area: see National Parks and Monuments (table). . Woodland Hills developer Robert Zuckerman still can seek permission for a substantially changed project along the Ventura Freeway The Ventura Freeway is a freeway in southern California running from Ventura to Pasadena. It is the principal east-west route through Ventura County and in the southern San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County. just west of Calabasas. Zuckerman has fought to develop the hill since buying it from Bob Hope for $9 million in 1990. Opponents said the project would destroy the picturesque gateway to the recreation area and a large oak savanna An oak savanna is a type of savanna, or lightly-forested grassland, with oaks as the dominant tree species. California oak savannas
``The prospect of a major commercial center and residential complex on one of the most beautiful oak savannas in the Santa Monica Mountains The Santa Monica Mountains are a low transverse range in southern California in the United States. Geography They run for approximately 40 mi (64 km) east-west from the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles to Point Mugu in Ventura County. within eyesight of the 101 Freeway has haunted people,'' said Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. According to Yaroslavsky, the board vote was the first time the county has taken a stand against developers building in the Calabasas and Agoura Hills area. Zuckerman said the plan to build 136 townhomes and a 287,000-square- foot shopping center would eliminate only about 100 of the 400 oak trees and would add a needed shopping area to the region. Yaroslavsky said he would be open to considering a new plan that was limited to a small commercial development of 20,000 to 40,000 square feet - but no housing. During the three-hour hearing, Zuckerman indicated he would be willing to eliminate the townhomes from the development. He could not be reached for comment on his plans. Some people spoke in favor of the project, saying they want shopping closer to their homes. Calabasas resident Monica Neighbors said when she purchased a home in the area in 1992 she was told a shopping center would be built. ``I have to drive four miles to go shopping,'' she said. ``My homeowners association and the cities in this area have been so entrenched en·trench also in·trench v. en·trenched, en·trench·ing, en·trench·es v.tr. 1. To provide with a trench, especially for the purpose of fortifying or defending. 2. in opposing development that they are overlooking the benefits.'' Opponents focused on the project's effect on the rural character of the area. Melanie Beck, outdoor recreation planner for the National Park Service, said the oak savanna is home to one of the largest, most diverse raptor raptor In general, any bird of prey, including owls. The raptors are sometimes restricted to eagles, falcons, hawks, and vultures (birds of the order Falconiformes), all diurnal predators that “seize and carry off” (Latin raptare) their prey. populations in the nation. Also, bobcats, coyotes, deer and other animals use the wildlife corridor to cross under the 101 Freeway, she said. CAPTION(S): map MAP: Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area development |
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