Calabasas Approves 137 More Apartments at Top of Malibu Canyon Play

The Calabasas Planning Commission has approved the expansion of a large existing apartment complex at the top of Malibu Canyon. The city finds itself painted into a corner.

137 new apartments will be added to the existing 600 apartments at the Avalon Calabasas complex, just off Las Virgenes Road north of Lost Hills Road.

Numerous opponents say the area is a wildfire danger and will overload fire evacuation from the Santa Monica Mountains north of Malibu.

The developer has gamed the system to squeeze in as many units as possible. 27 of the new units will be reserved for low-income renters, so the project qualifies for a density bonus under state housing law. That means the developer can ignore Calabasas rules like the 35-foot height limit and setback standards.

According to the Acorn newspaper, dozens of residents spoke out against the proposal. They worry about evacuation safety, the loss of scenic views and the loss of open space. Some residents in the existing apartments say the owner is not fixing maintenance problems in the existing 600 units.

The planning commission chairman told the crowd that turning down the proposal would end up in a lawsuit that Calabasas would probably lose.

Calabasas had identified this property as a site for potential future development four years ago, to comply with a state law that requires the city to amend its zoning to allow for residential growth.

As the Acorn newspaper explains it, hovering over the Malibu Canyon project is the memory of a lawsuit that Calabasas lost over a similar project on Las Virgenes Road closer to the 101. Three years ago, a judge ruled that the City Council's denial of residential density lacked merit and was done in bad faith. That cost the city $5 million in legal fees, and the city was forced into approving housing anyway.

At this project, city traffic engineers again said evacuation traffic jams would not be a problem. This is part of a pattern where traffic engineers predict no traffic jams during evacuations, and residents say they got stuck in evacuations trying to get to the 101 freeway.