Deerlake Ranch Cut From 375 to 315 Single-Family Homes

A construction monitoring committee Tuesday unanimously approved a revised proposal to build 315 single-family homes instead of 375 in the hills north of  Chatsworth.

Most of the concerns raised by two dozen residents in attendance at the Radisson Hotel centered on the four-mile equestrian trail surrounding the 232-acre property north of the Ronald Reagan 118-Freeway between Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Canoga Avenue in unincorporated Los Angeles.

After resident Jeannie Plumb pointed out that horse trails in the partially gated community crossed over private property lines, the Deerlake Ranch Construction Monitoring Committee stipulated two conditions of approval.

"The community wants to encourage horses," Plumb said. "All of the horse trails should be in open space. Trails into a gated community won't work in the real world," she said.

Plumb also insisted potential homebuyers in the gated neighborhood be fully informed that horses could be riding on public trails adjacent to their backyards.

Hans Giraud, the project manager for Los Angeles-based developer, Presidio Chatsworth Partners LLC, agreed to both requirements.

Giraud also agreed that water runoff and drainage mitigation at Deerlake Ranch should not create any types of hazards to horses and hikers in the northern part of the trail.

A concern was also raised regarding the multi-use designation of the trail.

"It's scary mixing horses and hikers and motorbikes," said Mary Kaufman, a member of the Los Angeles City Equine Advisory Committee and chair of the Chatsworth Neighborhood Council's equestrian committee.

The revised Deerlake Ranch plan, with the reduction in the number of houses, still needs county approval. A revised map of equestrian trails will be sent to the committee members in about two weeks, Giraud said.

A declining housing market and rising construction costs caused the project to be put on hold. The start of construction is impossible to predict, Giraud said.

Two grading phases and seven building phases are projected at Deerlake Ranch in close proximity to the long-existing Twin Lakes community.

One of the 112 conditions of approval imposed by county officials was installation of a sewer system in Twin Lakes, also a topic of discussion at Tuesday's meeting.

Letters seeking sewer easements were sent to 176 property owners, however, the letters have been mostly ignored.

Fifty nine agreed to the sewer easement, while 11 refused to sign. Developers have been unable to reach the remaining property owners, many of whom are absentee owners.

Condemnation of property for sewer easements in Twin Lakes remains a last-resort option, Giraud said.

Some septic tanks have failed in the Twin Lakes community, which makes the sewer easement a matter of public health, the committee was told.