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 required state-authorized waivers under the density bonus law: the developer asked to exceed the city's 3-story/40-foot height limit and to waive the city’s 20% minimum commercial requirement. With those waivers the project is four stories and about 49 feet tall.

Why the city approved waivers

Thomas and Mesovic said state law requires cities to approve certain waivers administratively when objective local standards would physically prevent a developer from achieving the density to which state guidance entitles them after providing the required affordability. Mesovic said the city adopted objective standards alongside the housing element to preserve architectural quality and that the Regency project nonetheless complied with many objective standards (front setbacks, building coverage, parking articulation) even while taking permitted waivers.

Affordable-unit eligibility, rents and timeline

Mesovic and Robbie Mesovic summarized state income limits used to determine who qualifies for affordable units. The planners noted that income thresholds are higher than many residents expect and rise with household size. Mesovic said application materials for the Regency’s affordable units are not expected until 2027; the city has an interest list and will notify people who sign up when applications open.

Trip generation, traffic and evacuation

Matt Stewart, the city traffic engineer (identified in the webinar as representing Kimberly Horne and Associates), presented the transportation analysis the developer prepared and the city reviewed. He said the study compared the site’s former use (movie theater and retail) with the proposed housing and commercial mix and found: over an average day the project would generate about 2,000 fewer vehicle trips than the previous uses; during the PM peak hour trips would decline; during the AM peak hour the project would add about 85 vehicle trips. Stewart said the modeled increases produced negligible additional delay at nearby intersections (up to about 0.3 seconds in the AM peak in the intersections analyzed) and that the project meets general plan policies.

On evacuation, Stewart said the city evaluates evacuation on a project-by-project basis (addressing access, routes and emergency-vehicle access) and that a citywide capacity analysis was done as part of the 2021–2029 housing element update. That housing-element analysis, he said, assessed routes to U.S. 101 and considered both residents along Agoura Road and people living south of Agoura in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Other project details and related projects

Mesovic said the developer designed the building around a large oak tree in the center courtyard; construction is anticipated to last about 27 months. He also described unit mix requirements that tie the affordable units to the market-rate unit mix for the project: for the 38 restricted units the developer must provide four studios, 21 one-bedrooms, 13 two-bedrooms and one three-bedroom at affordable rents if those units were occupied today.

Denise Thomas said the city currently has two additional affordable-housing overlay projects under review: a project proposed at the southwest corner of Canaan Road and Agoura Road with 238 units (including 18 very-low-income and 18 low-income units) and a Site C south of the Wissen Center with 33 units (4 very-low-income and 2 low-income).

Other operational items

Charmaine Yambo, public works director and city engineer, said construction in the public right-of-way will require an encroachment permit and traffic-control plans that address drivers, cyclists and pedestrians; she said the Regency developer plans to publish a project website, which the city will link from its planning page. Mesovic said the city requires bicycle storage in multifamily projects; there is no transit center proposed for the Regency site and the city does not offer energy-efficiency credits for homeowners (residents should check with Southern California Edison for any utility programs).

Questions and next steps

Staff said applications for affordable units are expected in 2027 and the city is maintaining an interest list. Mesovic provided his contact information during the webinar for follow-up. Ramiro Adeba closed the webinar by reminding attendees the session was being recorded and that the video and a Q&A transcript would be posted on the city’s planning page.

Ending

City staff emphasized that many project decisions reflect state requirements—state RHNA allocations and the density bonus law—and encouraged anyone with further questions to use the city’s planning email (planning@agourahillscity.org) or the contact information Mesovic provided. The city said it will post the full recording and the Q&A transcript on its website later in the week.