A hotel and housing development planned for Calabasas is facing resistance by a group of local residents who submitted signatures on a petition that would halt the plans.
Calabasas residents opposing the Canyon Oaks development that would require substantial grading say they have gathered enough signatures for a petition to force the issue to be put to a public referendum. The development would see the construction of a hotel that could increase traffic through Malibu Canyon as visitors travel to Malibu’s beaches.
The City of Calabasas has submitted the signatures for validation to the county. The various groups that organized the petition report they submitted 2,026 signatures. The Calabasas Acorn reports sources have counted “over 1,800 signatures.”
If the petition’s signatures are valid, the referendum could appear as soon as the November general election. Calabasas City Council also has the option to repeal the ordinance approving the development. The New Home, developer of the project, has said they would submit a new proposal if their current one is rejected. Critics of the petition have said petitioners are antidevelopment. President of Malibu Canyon Community Association Mary Hubbard, representing one of the many groups involved with the petition, disagrees.
“I’d love to see it turned into open space, but that’s not on the table. That’s what no one here believes,” Hubbard said. “What we’d like is something smaller.”