BOTH SIDES CLAIM VICTORY AS JUDGE ALTERS WORDING.

Byline: - Cecilia Chan

Opponents and backers of a March 5 initiative that would limit retail stores to 60,000 square feet in size claimed victory Thursday after a judge ordered a sentence deleted from the city's ballot argument.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David P. Yaffe deleted one sentence from the analysis authored by City Attorney Craig Steele, saying ``(it) is not impartial because it seeks to persuade voters to vote against Proposition H because a portion of it is invalid.''

Al Abrams, spokesman for Citizens for Responsible Growth, which is sponsoring Measure H, claimed a win.

``The city of Agoura Hills was dealt a humiliating blow in their attempt to affect an election of the voters,'' he said.

But elected officials said the victory was theirs because the judge let stand the bulk of the city's argument against Measure H.

``CRG did not win anything. This was actually a victory for the city of Agoura Hills and voters of Agoura Hills,'' City Councilman Dan Kuperberg said.

The citizens group launched the initiative in an effort to block the construction of a 110,000-square-foot Home Depot. The group said the store would ruin the character of the town, generate traffic congestion and hurt smaller businesses.

The City Council at one point considered a countermeasure but eventually decided to let the citizens initiative stand on its own. Officials said limiting the size of retail stores would hurt the city's revenue potential.