PROTECTING CALABASAS VALUES

By Toby Keeler

HISTORICAL AS WELL AS PROPERTY VALUES ARE WORTH PROTECTING. IF WE ARE NOT CAREFUL, BOTH COULD EASILY SLIP AWAY.

In the first dozen years since cityhood in 1991, new development had to "fit the land". We found ways to accommodate property rights without degrading the rural amenity. With proper screening and a low profile, new homes such as this one along Mulholland Highway, which is barely visable, have enhanced the scenic viewshed and bolstered our quality of life and, in turn, local property values

In the past few years, however, a shift has occurred in the type of development that has been approved. No longer does a project have to fit the land. Once scenic hillsides are rapidly falling victim to the type of new construction we became a city to try and stop.

It is the special character of each neighborhood in Calabasas makes us unique. We are not a planned community. Our diversity is noteable. Mulwood is not Malibu Canyon; Calabasas Park is not the Calabasas Highlands; yet together we are Calabasas. The character of our City is worth protecting, but if are not careful, the type of development now being approved at City Hall could, in a few short years, destroy the very qualities that make us special. It is only through the aggressive preservation of our remaining open spaces that we can begin to control traffic, reverse the overcrowding of our schools, protect our semi-rural quality-of-life, and ultimately our property values.