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Staff recommends RRM to develop Agora Road concept plans as talks with property owners continue
Summary
Staff recommended awarding a $50,000 concept-plan contract to RRM Design Group to develop Agora Road gathering-place concepts and strategies. City staff reported active outreach to property owners (notably Norman Kravitz) about rezoning and mixed-use options and initial conversations with BioCom about life-science opportunities.
City staff told the Agoura Hills City Council they recommend awarding a consultant services agreement to RRM Design Group to prepare concept plans and strategies for Agora Road and the immediate corridor.
Assistant City Manager Ramiro Adeva said two firms responded to the RFP (Torti Gallas and RRM) and that RRM's prior work on local projects and a demonstrated small-town design approach favored the firm. The FY 2025-26 budget includes the $50,000 for concept work and staff said the consultant's scope aims for concept deliverables in 2026.
Adeva said staff has begun stakeholder outreach and described a series of property-owner conversations. He singled out property-owner Norman Kravitz, who owns three buildings across from City Hall (the former PennyMac site, the V2 building and the former Rams building) and who staff said has been a willing partner in preliminary discussions about flexible uses, potential housing, restaurants, gathering spaces and possibly a boutique hotel.
On the PennyMac site — a roughly 100,000-square-foot property the presentation described as vacant — staff said Kravitz has asked the city to consider zoning flexibility that would allow commercial and residential uses to improve site viability. Staff also described outreach to the Hankey Investment Company (two buildings, one with significant vacancy) and initial, preliminary conversations with BioCom California about whether parts of the corridor could be made more life-science-friendly.
Adeva said next steps would be to begin the RRM contract work immediately if the council authorizes it, continue outreach with willing property owners and plan a public outreach campaign using the city's communications team. Staff repeatedly characterized the property-owner conversations as exploratory and emphasized that zoning and implementation tools would require additional studies and council decisions.
Council members expressed enthusiasm for the concept work and the reported willingness of property owners to discuss redevelopment, noting vacancy in large buildings and potential synergies among housing, commercial uses and employment.
The record in the provided transcript shows staff recommendation and robust council support; a formal contract award or executed agreement was not recorded in the provided portion of the meeting.
