Calabasas : City Officials Postpone Annexation Hearing

Saying they need more time to prepare, Calabasas city officials have postponed a public hearing set for Wednesday on a proposal to annex Mountain View Estates.

The meeting will probably be postponed until June, Calabasas City Manager Charles Cate said.

Residents of Mountain View Estates, a gated community off Mureau Road, have been pushing for annexation to Calabasas for almost three years. Ahmanson Land Co., which wants to build a mini-city north of Mountain View Estates, sued to block the move, reportedly because it fears that annexation would endanger the company’s plans to build an access road near the gated community.

The company disputes the city’s claim that annexation does not require an environmental study. The matter is in litigation.

Cate said that city officials postponed the hearing because they need time to make minor revisions to a procedural document that asserts that annexation would not have a negative effect on the environment. The revisions, he said, will “further support our argument” that an environmental study is unnecessary.

Adrian Rodriguez, a spokesman for Ahmanson Land Co., said Thursday that company officials would wait until they have seen the revisions before commenting.

“We’re taking a wait-and-see approach to see if it will have any impact on our litigation,” he said.