Agoura Hills staff explain Regency redevelopment, affordable-unit requirements and traffic analysis

Agoura Hills staff used a public webinar to explain how state housing law shaped the redevelopment of the former Regency Theater site and to summarize the project's affordable-unit mix, timeline and traffic analysis.

Assistant City Manager Ramiro Adeba opened the Feb. 2025 webinar and said the event was “here for you,” and that questions submitted in advance and during the session would be posted on the city's website after the presentation.

The project and why it matters

Denise Thomas, Agoura Hills community development director, told attendees that the city's recent housing approvals reflect state mandates created after the governor declared a housing crisis and subsequent legislation beginning in 2017. Thomas and others said the state’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) and the state density bonus law limit some aspects of local control: developers who meet statutory affordability thresholds are eligible for waivers or concessions from local objective standards.

Robbie Mesovic, the city’s principal planner, described the Regency application, which was filed in 2023 and administratively approved by staff in April 2024. The approved design calls for 278 rental apartments, including 28 very-low-income units and 10 low-income units, plus roughly 5,000 square feet of commercial space at the site’s northeast corner. Mesovic said the developer must deed-restrict the affordable rental units for at least 55 years and must build the affordable units concurrently with market-rate units using the same design, materials and finishes.

Mesovic said the project…