CALABASAS CANDIDATES AGREE: AHMANSON RANCH PLAN BAD.

Byline: Dominic Berbeo Staff Writer

CALABASAS - The contest for three seats on the Calabasas City Council is in its final stretch, with two incumbents and five challengers citing opposition to the proposed Ahmanson Ranch housing development as their No. 1 priority.

Voters in the city of 27,000 residents will head to the polls Tuesday in the race where Councilman James Bozajian is seeking a second term while Councilwoman Lesley Devine is seeking her third term.

A third seat became available when Councilman Robert Sibilia resigned in January.

The five challengers include a college student and entrepreneur, a lawyer, a writer, a political aide, and a communications executive.

All the candidates have pledged to fight the proposed Ahmanson project that would bring 3,050 homes in the southeast corner of Ventura County on the border with Los Angeles County.

All roads leading to Ahmanson are in Los Angeles, and the Southern California Association of Governments estimates the project would add 46,000 vehicle trips daily to local freeways.

Council candidate Matthew Hooper, 23, a senior at California State University, Northridge, who also owns an Internet service company, said the solution is to purchase the land from Ahmanson's parent company, Seattle-based Washington Mutual, for preservation.

``The money is out there,'' he said. ``Buying the land would be good for local cities, and good for Washington Mutual, which is losing money by sitting on the development.''

Hooper, who served as an elected CSUN student government member and has reported raising and spending $2,000 in his campaign, said other priorities include upgrading the city's technology and getting young people more involved in city affairs.

Devine, 58, an environmental activist who helped found the suburban city 10 years ago and was first elected to the council in 1991, said her approach to Ahmanson is fighting Washington Mutual through its shareholders.

``They don't want to come to the table to negotiate, so we'll have to take a 'battle in Seattle' approach,'' Devine said.

She identified other major priorities as developing a public transportation system and putting a bond issue on the 2002 ballot to build a new City Hall and civic center complex. She reported spending $10,300 in the current race, including funds raised previously and $4,100 raised in this campaign.

Candidate Michael Harrison, a private attorney, said he is working with Devine to talk with Washington Mutual shareholders about pushing the bank to negotiate with Calabasas.

``We'll seek removal of their CEO if they continue to refuse to negotiate or sell the property,'' he said.

Harrison, 49, a planning commissioner, said other important issues include traffic mitigation and acquiring open space. He reports having raised $10,000 and spending $5,800 in the race.

Bozajian, a Los Angeles deputy district attorney who served from 1993-97 on the Calabasas Community Policing Commission, said he is interested in taking a buyout approach to Ahmanson.

``Acquiring that land is the plan,'' he said. ``We should push for legislation that will give Washington Mutual a tax incentive to sell the property.''

Bozajian, 35, leads the candidates in fund raising, saying he has raised $25,000, including a $10,000 personal loan, and spent about $11,000.

Candidate Karmen Brower, a former business owner who currently writes historical fiction, said the key to resolving the Ahmanson issue lies in getting Ventura County residents and officials to fight the project.

``When we get all the entities working together, we can beat this thing,'' she said.

Brower, 58, said her other priorities are being able to balance business investment with environmental concerns to maintain slow growth in Calabasas. She says she has raised and spent about $4,400.

Candidate Marcus Allen Frishman, a legislative aide with the state Board of Equalization, said his approach to Ahmanson would be to work with the developer to lessen the negative impacts of the project.

``We will not stop Ahmanson,'' he said. ``The lawsuits have failed and we need to move on.''

Frishman, who refused to give his age, has served as a deputy to various city and county officials. He reports having raised and spent about $12,000 in the campaign.

Candidate Leslie Abraham-Wolf, 51, a former medical communications executive who also said she is opposed to Ahmanson, wants more environmental testing done on the site.

``We should demand tests for toxic water contamination at the site,'' she said. ``I believe the site is unfit for development.''

She identified other key issues as creating shuttle parking near public schools to ease traffic congestion, and creating a city ethics panel. She reported raising $3,000 through a personal loan, and spending nothing.

Recent elections have been extremely tight in the city of 27,000, where just 2,398 voters participated in the 1999 municipal race, according to city records.

In that race, Councilwoman Janice Lee won by just 13 votes over opposing candidate Daniel Glaser.

CAPTION(S):

7 photos

Photo:

(1) HOOPER

(2) DEVINE

(3) HARRISON

(4) BOZAJIAN

(5) BROWER

(6) FRISHMAN

(7) ABRAHAM-WOLF