Agoura Village?

This is an update regarding the second lawsuit filed against the current Agoura Village Specific Plan ("AVSP").

The AVSP currently is the approval of three large developments in one, encompassing 135 acres in and around the intersection of Kanan Hwy and Agoura Road in Agoura Hills, California. The proposal will allow 1,000,000,000 sq ft of building (the size of the Oaks Shopping Mall) plus 300 homes with no limit of square footage. The only mitigation for traffic is a proposed "roundabout" on Kanan Dume Hwy. No highway widening or new road is proposed.

Citizens for Sensitive Development, a project of the International Humanities Center, http://ihcenter.org/groups/csd is helping fund the lawsuit filed December 10, 2008 by Mary Altmann in Superior Court. The reason for the lawsuit is that the current AVSP environmental impact report ("EIR") failed to identify Fire Hazard as a significant impact, failed to adequately assess and mitigate the archeological impact of the development, and failed to notify people who commented on the prior EIR as required by law.

Judge Thomas I. McKnew, Jr. heard the case July 28, 2009. He agreed with the City on all points and entered a corresponding judgment August 26, 2008. An appeal to this decision was filed October 22, 2009 over concern the judgment was factually and materially incorrect. The case in the California Court of Appeals should be heard in 2010.

Citizens for Sensitive Development are interested in a project that will honor the historic Indian life and unique species present there, preserve the unique quality of the area, and hallmark the area as the rural Gateway to the Santa Monica Mountains. Some of us envision a low-density, recreational only (no residential) project with an aquatic theme so visitors and residents may choose between recreation at Agoura Hills, or hitting the traffic for the beach. In any case, we are against the massive upzoning of this area, and can only logically conclude it will be a safety hazard and traffic concern in it's present form. We think of sensible, reasonable alternatives, and a planning decision that can and should be logically thought out and legally accurate.