Next weekend we’d like to help stop the 4-Story hotel that is going to forever block views and access to the National Historic DeAnza Trail if it is built. We need to get a good turnout of ALL trail users so please help me by spreading the word and getting these flyers distributed to your friends, riding buddies, the greater mountain biking community and anyone who cares about the views of the Santa Monica Mountains.
(CORBA is hosting an intermediate ride from Bark Park to this event. Learn more about it and sign up on this Meetup event page.)
This trail is located right off the 101 at Las Virgenes and next to the Mobil Station, the trail connects to the New Millennium and is only one of two access points to the New Millennium trail. The designated National Historic DeAnza trail runs from south of Arizona in Mexico to San Francisco and celebrates the discoveries by Juan Bautista DeAnza. It is one of only 16 trails in the nation that went before congress and the White House (according to the MND report).
De Anza/New Millenium Rally.
The developer is being encouraged by the city to build a 4-Story hotel that will require that he put in substantial flood control measures, including a wall that will block access to the trail. Originally, they designed steps up and over the wall…and have since proposed an ADA ramp. One of the developer’s claims is that he is improving the trail for the community by putting in parking (4 shared spots with commuters and hotel guests), a doggie poo station and a trash can to justify the variance to the city’s height restrictions and building in the Las Virgenes Scenic Corridor. There will be no vehicle access to the trail anymore from the west side of Calabasas…only from Calabasas Road further east.
We want to make sure that all trail users are there (most impacted will be the equestrians)…because all will have impaired access to the trail. The developer has no plans for horse trailer parking and in fact has limited parking for other trail users unless the city “gifts” him the currently public Rondell street easement, that is currently used by trail users of all types, daily by commuters as a park and ride and now as a construction staging area for local infrastructure projects.
Please come…and spread the word to others too…at 1pm on January 23rd. We need a big group of trail users and the community to make sure that our voices are heard. We’re asking that mountain bikers ride in…, and park their cars either on Agoura Road or north of the freeway on Las Virgenes, since it is easier for us to ride in to the site. Or make a day of it and ride New Millennium Loop before or after, parking along Lost Hills Road and starting at the Bark Park.
We also want to be respectful of local businesses who are already victimized by transient parking and need their lots for their customers. It will only get worse for local businesses if the two hotels go and housing development goes in with inadequate parking. That is why we are asking people to park legally on the street and hike/ride in.
(CORBA is hosting an intermediate ride from Bark Park to this event. Learn more about it and sign up on this Meetup event page.)
Thank you for helping us spread the word…this development is not a done deal. We need all the support we can get.
A hiker approaches the De Anza trailhead, which will be hidden behind a hotel
An artist’s rendering of the proposed hotel.
