Planning commission finds sewer-easement vacation at 29045 Agoura Road conforms with general plan

The Agoura Hills Planning Commission voted 4–0 to find that vacating a recorded sanitary sewer easement at 29045 Agoura Road is in conformity with the Agoura Hills General Plan, allowing the matter to proceed to City Council for further action.

Robbie Nesovich, principal planner, told the commission the easement was recorded in 1990 in conjunction with a theater project and was originally intended to serve properties east of Cornell Road. Nesovich said subsequent development tied into the sewer trunk line along Agoura Road, and for the past 36 years the easement has only served the property at 29045 Agoura Road and does not extend beyond it. Staff concluded the easement is "excess" under Streets & Highways Code Section 8333(c).

"Since that sewer line has never been extended, the easement itself hasn't been necessary for the last 36 years," Nesovich said, adding that the easement does not have the potential to serve other public facilities or properties in the future.

Commissioners asked technical questions about whether the existing trunk line would serve future development and whether the easement had ever been used. Staff confirmed the city’s main trunk line along Agoura Road currently provides sewer service and that the easement had been used historically for the property but no longer serves upstream properties. Vice Chair Reinhardt moved to adopt the staff recommendation; Commissioner Stein seconded the motion. A roll call vote approved the finding 4–0 (Commissioner Plattzer—Aye; Commissioner Stein—Aye; Vice Chair Reinhardt—Aye; Chair Roth—Aye).

Staff said the commission’s finding that the proposed vacation conforms with the general plan is the first step; if adopted by the council, the city would proceed with the statutory process to declare the easement excess and implement the vacation.