AGOURA HILLS RACE DEVELOPMENT A TOP ISSUE AS CHALLENGERS TAKE ON COUNCIL INCUMBENTS.Byline: Cecilia Chan Staff Writer AGOURA HILLS - Three City Council members will try to win another four years as they battle five challengers at the ballot box on Nov. 6. Preserving open space, developing ``big-box'' stores and improving transportation are among the issues being debated in this affluent city of 21,000 as Councilmen Ed Corridori, Jeff Reinhardt and Denis Denis, king of Portugal: see Diniz. Weber face Melvin Adams, Dan Crisafulli, Ken Horton, George C. Thomas and Bob Wachs. Incumbents say they want another term to finish projects such as the overhaul of the Kanan Road/101 Freeway interchange planned for next year. Businessman Corridori, 58, said he wants a third term to continue guiding the development of Agoura Village, a planned pedestrian-friendly shopping and entertainment center, and finding money to buy land at Lindero Creek and Reyes Adobe Road for open space and a park. Corridori, a 23-year resident, also wants to slow down traffic on residential streets and for the city to help provide affordable housing. ``The decisions we make will impact the livability of the city,'' he said. Jeff Reinhardt, 51, a marketing executive, said he will keep law enforcement the top priority, look to attract business so residents don't have to drive long distances and continue to add open space. The 14-year resident also wants to look for money to restore the historic Reyes Adobe and adjoining barn into a community resource and learning center. The adobe is closed because of damage from the 1994 Northridge Earthquake The Northridge earthquake occurred on January 17, 1994 at 4:31 AM Pacific Standard Time in the city of Los Angeles, California. The earthquake had a "strong" moment magnitude of 6. . ``We have to look at grants to help bring that site back into useful active status,'' said Reinhardt, elected in 1997. ``It's something we need to preserve. It's part of the heritage of this region.'' Denis Weber, a 57-year-old bank vice president, said this would be his final term if he is re-elected. The 16-year resident said most of the agenda he set for himself eight years ago has been accomplished but issues such as improving the freeway interchange and enhancing the city's tax base still need his input. ``There are some blighted blight n. 1. a. Any of numerous plant diseases resulting in sudden conspicuous wilting and dying of affected parts, especially young, growing tissues. b. pieces of the city that need to be rehabilitated,'' he said. ``Hopefully, we can get some good retail in there, something everybody wants, like a Promenade promenade Public place where people walk (or, in the past, rode) at leisure for pleasure, exercise, or display. Promenades are pedestrian avenues pleasingly landscaped or commanding a view, often located along waterfronts and in parks. Vehicular traffic may or may not be restricted. or The Commons.'' For some challengers, a potential Home Depot The Home Depot (NYSE: HD) is an American retailer of home improvement and construction products and services. Headquartered in Vinings, just outside Atlanta in unincorporated Cobb County, Georgia, Home Depot employs more than 355,000 people and operates 2,164 big-box has become a hot topic - with three of them publicly in favor of getting an initiative on the ballot to ban retail buildings larger than 60,000 square feet. ``I want to help make a change in Agoura Hills,'' said Melvin Adams, a 57-year-old businessman who moved back to the city in 1985. ``I want to keep the 'big boxes' out of Agoura Hills. I want to keep Agoura Hills a rural community instead of turning it into the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. .'' Adams said he also wants to see more recreational activities for youths, especially those who are not into sports. Businessman Dan Crisafulli, 50, also opposes the development of warehouse stores in Agoura Hills. ``I think the City Council is taking this city and the future of the city into a dangerous area,'' he said. ``We are putting ourselves in a dangerous position if we start approving large projects that create too much traffic (because) city streets can't handle it.'' The 21-year resident also supports providing more recreational activities and open-space preservation, and he thinks the city should go back to the drawing board and redesign re·de·sign tr.v. re·de·signed, re·de·sign·ing, re·de·signs To make a revision in the appearance or function of. re the interchange project. ``There are too many businesses that would be severely impacted by the current design,'' he said. ``It'll not only injure To interfere with the legally protected interest of another or to inflict harm on someone, for which an action may be brought. To damage or impair. The term injure is comprehensive and can apply to an injury to a person or property. Cross-references Tort Law. businesses but the tax base we get from them.'' Ken Horton, a 54-year-old financial aid director, is taking a second shot at the council, having run as a write-in candidate Noun 1. write-in candidate - a candidate for public office whose name does not appear on the ballot and so must be written on the ballot by the voters write-in campaigner, candidate, nominee - a politician who is running for public office in 1999. ``The problems I saw and wanted to improve the last time are still the same problems I see in the city,'' said Horton, a 14-year resident. Horton is concerned with how the city will pay its share of the cost for the interchange project, and he criticized the council for spending money for a new City Hall and library complex instead. The city has to match a $10.5 million Metropolitan Transit Authority grant. Horton, who opposes construction of a big-box store This article has multiple issues: * Its factual accuracy is disputed. * It does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by citing reliable sources. , also expressed doubt about the ability of the city to support a full-service hospital. ``Instead of pitching a hospital, what most city councils have done in the past, pitch a (smaller) emergency facility, look for people who will build it or fund it and woo them into the city,'' he said. Horton also wants to explore the possibility of providing a commuter service from Ventura to downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or . George C. Thomas, a former aide to Rep. Brad Sherman Bradley J. "Brad" Sherman (born October 24 1954) is an American politician. He has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1997, representing California's At-large congressional district. , D-Woodland Hills, sees as top issues the interchange, open space and the need for a hospital. A 1995 graduate of Agoura Hills High School, Thomas said he is keenly aware of the need for more facilities at the campus, such as a performing arts center A performing arts center, often abbreviated PAC, is a multi-use performance space that can be adapted for use by various types of the performing arts, including dance, music and theatre. . ``I want to be the one to fight for things the people of Agoura Hills want,'' said Thomas, 24, who writes and sells ads for a weekly newspaper in Beverly Hills Beverly Hills, city (1990 pop. 31,971), Los Angeles co., S Calif., completely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles; inc. 1914. The largely residential city is home to many motion-picture and television personalities. . ``What I want to do if I get elected is create a foundation where everyone in the community works Police and Community Youth Clubs PCYC Originally known as the 'Police Rotary Youth Club' PCYC originated in Sydney, Australia in the 1930s. There are currently 57 clubs in New South Wales. together to get (a project built) - have a goal and make it happen - whether it's writing grants or working with the chamber and have them fund some of it. ``This is kind of like a new approach - where there is a goal, don't stop until this gets fixed or gets built,'' the 13-year-resident said. Bob Wachs, a 16-year resident, wants to see more light industrial and retail development in town, saying that office space will not provide the tax revenue the city needs. He also wants to increase the city's sphere of influence to have more control over development near its borders. The 57-year-old business consultant also supports a pay-as-you-go approach for the interchange project instead of the city using up its reserves. Wachs also wants save the rural feel of the city, which is being lost on the commercial corridor with the construction of generic-looking buildings. ``The bottom line is Agoura Hills is the best little city in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, and I want to make sure it stays that way.'' |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion