Agoura Hills council gives nonbinding feedback on Toll Brothers' Gateway Church housing prescreen

The Agoura Hills City Council on April 9 reviewed a prescreen application from Toll Brothers and Gateway Church to amend the Lady Face Mountain Specific Plan and the City’s General Plan to allow residential development and a new religious facility at 29646 Agoura Road.

The proposal submitted at prescreen would subdivide the 109‑acre parcel into five lots, reserve about 87 acres as open space, and site 61 for‑sale homes (a mix of single‑family and duplex units) plus a new sanctuary and multipurpose building for Gateway Church. Toll Brothers’ representative said the developer would provide “4 affordable units at very low income for sale” and pay $1,250,000 in in‑lieu fees toward affordable housing elsewhere in the city.

The prescreen is an early, nonbinding step; staff told the council the project has not undergone formal review and would require a specific plan amendment, a general plan amendment, environmental review, a vesting tentative map and other permits if formally filed. Denise Thomas, the city’s community development director, told council the site had been ruled out during prior housing‑element site selection because the state housing department (HCD) judged it “not an acceptable site” for default densities because of environmental and topographic constraints.

Council members uniformly praised the church’s community role but raised objections to key elements of the proposal. Councilmember Deborah Klein Lopez said she supported housing generally but warned that amending the specific plan for this parcel could “cede local control” if the property later changed hands and a future owner sought greater density under state density‑bonus provisions. "If the development doesn't go as planned and ends up in someone else's hands and goes into a ministerial process that changes your vision," she said, "we lose all the control."

Councilmember Jeremy Wolf and other members cited wildfire risks and evacuation constraints. Wolf noted the parcel lies in a very high fire‑hazard severity zone and said the site’s single primary access via Agoura Road could complicate evacuations in a large fire. Councilmember Kate Anderson and others pressed the applicants on retaining‑wall heights and building materials; city staff said past retaining‑wall variances had sometimes reached about 8 feet, while Toll Brothers noted most retaining walls along Agoura Road in their plan would be under 6 feet and that a limited portion of the site would require higher walls.

Toll Brothers’ presentation emphasized grading and design choices intended to “work with the existing topography,” showing terraces and “walkout” units intended to reduce visible bulk. John Bridal, vice president of land entitlement for Toll Brothers, said the firm had revised earlier concepts to respond to council concerns about view corridors and hillside massing. Pastor Gabe of Gateway Church described the congregation’s desire to upgrade its campus and said proceeds from a sale would fund a larger auditorium, community programming and continued partnership with Camp Kinneret.

Staff highlighted how the application would change the specific plan’s development tables: the site currently allows 64,000 square feet for business‑park uses; the applicant proposes amendments that could raise allowed floor area and explicitly add residential as an allowed use. Staff also noted that if the project qualifies under the city’s inclusionary housing ordinance it would be eligible for the state density bonus and related concessions and waivers.

Council members repeatedly asked staff to detail how many low‑ and very low‑income units the site would contribute to Agoura Hills’ RHNA (Regional Housing Needs Assessment) obligations; staff and the applicant said the current proposal would yield only four very‑low‑income units and would not materially reduce the city’s need to rely on other sites identified in the housing element.

City staff asked for nonbinding feedback; after discussion the council did not take formal action. Mayor Penny Sylvester and staff said the comments would be communicated to the applicant for any future formal filing.

Votes at a glance: the council approved the meeting agenda (motion by Councilmember Chris Anstead; second Mayor Pro Tem Jeremy Wolf) and the consent calendar later in the meeting (motion by Councilmember Deborah Klein Lopez; second Mayor Pro Tem Wolf). Both motions passed 5–0 (Councilmembers Kate Anderson, Chris Anstead, Deborah Klein Lopez, Mayor Pro Tem Jeremy Wolf and Mayor Penny Sylvester recorded Aye votes).

The prescreen review does not commit the council to any entitlement; if the applicant files a formal application it will be subject to environmental review, public hearings and the city’s standard permit process.