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Calabasas council debates easing Old Town zoning rules to reduce vacancies and spur businesses
Summary
Staff recommended aligning Old Town (CT) commercial uses with the city's less‑restrictive commercial retail zone, trimming conditional use permit requirements and easing parking rules for existing buildings to make Old Town more attractive to tenants; council asked staff to vet options, outreach to affected property owners and return to Planning Commission.
Calabasas planning staff told the City Council they had investigated causes of storefront vacancies in Old Town Calabasas and flagged the zoning code’s procedural requirements and parking constraints as potential barriers to new tenants. Michael Klein, the city’s community development lead for the item, described Old Town as a three‑and‑a‑half acre commercial district that predates city zoning and noted that many uses there are subject to conditional use permits (CUPs).
"Because this land use requires a conditional use permit, it's not a simple zoning clearance," Michael Klein explained to the council, noting that a CUP can add months of processing time and thousands of dollars in fees and can deter…
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