CALABASAS : Ahmanson Road Bid Rejected by Council

The Calabasas City Council has rejected a proposal by Ahmanson Land Co. to pave and widen a section of Thousand Oaks Boulevard that could be vital to a controversial plan to build a mini-city in the Simi Hills.

Although Ahmanson’s planned 3,050-unit Ventura County development has been blocked by nine pending lawsuits, including one by the city of Calabasas, City Manager Charles Cate said the street project would have been rejected regardless of who submitted it.

“The council wants to give staff time to study the traffic patterns of the whole area before something like this is done,” Cate said of this week’s action. “I really don’t know why (Ahmanson) wants to do this now. But I suspect that there’s some kind of long-term strategy behind it.”

Ahmanson Vice President Guy Gniadek declined comment.

The proposed roadwork would have included paving a 1,365-foot stretch of Thousand Oaks Boulevard between Ruthwood Drive and Parkmor Road, widening it to 84 feet and adding eight-foot sidewalks and gutters.

City staff members are preparing a preliminary general plan for Calabasas, including a study of traffic flow and potential impacts of major projects. That study is expected to take shape within several months, and the Thousand Oaks Boulevard project could be reconsidered then.