Lake Calabasas: Who Gets In?

The Calabasas City Council is seeking the help of arbitration to resolve a dispute over who gets to use Lake Calabasas.

After two hours of contentious public comment, the council voted 4-0 on April 14 to ask a neutral party to decide whether Lake Calabasas should be off limits to all but the 2,800 members of the Calabasas Park Homeowners Association (CPHA).

Councilman Jonathan Wolfson, a member of the association who also lives within 500 feet of the lake, recused himself from the vote.

According to the motion, the city attorney and city manager will decide on the form of dispute resolution, such as a declaratory action from a judge.

"The persuasive power of a neutral judge would satisfy everyone," Councilman James Bozajian said. "It would satisfy me. I would abide by it, and I think CPHA would abide by it."

The man-made, 21-acre, Y-shaped lake was created in the late 1960s and is the only body of water in the city. Boating and fishing are permitted, but only for members of the homeowners association.

Residents who live near the lake but are not members of the association have been grumbling for years about the lack of access. The  complaints escalated in September when Victor Kenton voiced his frustration in a local publication, arguing that although he is not a member of the association he should have access to the lake because he contributes to its upkeep through property taxes.

In 1986, the association assumed ownership of the lake from the developer. Two years later, the association made a deal with Los Angeles County stipulating that county would provide maintenance services through a tax assessment district known as Local Maintenance District 22. The assessment district includes 3,182 Calabasas homes and contributes $575,000 annually to the upkeep of the lake.

Herein lies the source of the problem. Many of the homeowners who pay the assessment  are not members of the homeowners association. Kenton pays annually in assessment fees, like all assessment district residents, which he argues should grant him lake privileges. "I should have the same rights of access to Lake Calabasas that are enjoyed by CPHA members," Kenton said during the council meeting. "My position is not wishful thinking."

In 1999, the association received city permission to build a tubular steel fence around portions of the lake to prevent patrons of the nearby Calabasas Tennis and Swim Center  from wandering onto the private property, said Tony Coroalles, city manager.

An on-site security guard asks those who are not association members to leave the property, said Michael Colantuono, Calabasas city attorney.

Association members, who pay $221 in annual dues, receive a key that gains them access to the lake.  The dues help cover the cost of  the security guard as well as maintenance of both the lake and an adjacent greenbelt.

In March the city informed the homeowners association of its official position: Unless all residents who paid the tax assessment had access to the lake, the city would not release that revenue to the association.

Los Angeles County can terminate the maintenance agreement with 10 days' notice if the funds are withheld, Colantuono said.

"As you know, the city has shared with you a legal opinion that outlined our legal ability to continue to fund maintenance of the lake unless all property owners within the boundaries of [Local Maintenance District 22] have access to it," Coroalles wrote in a March 11 letter to Robert Pope, president of the homeowners association.

"I want to make it clear that should your position be to not grant access to all property owners in [Local Maintenance District 22], the city will be legally required to discontinue the use of public funds to maintain the lake," he added.

The Calabasas Hills Community Association, which includes 46 non-CPHA homeowners who pay assessment fees but do not have access to the lake, wrote a March 18 letter to the city manager voicing its complaint.

The association called the matter an "unfair tax situation" in the letter to Coroalles.

CPHA members filled  most of the 125 seats in the council chambers at the meeting last week when the issue was brought up for discussion. Barry Hammond, who sits on the CPHA board, said without the tax assessment revenue, his group would have to raise dues to cover maintenance costs, which could threaten the organization's viability.

Lake access is the prime draw for association membership, he said. If non-members were given access to the lake, he said, "Many members would drop out" and follow that example. "Why should people pay dues if [other] people get to use the lake for free?"

Donald Loeb, an association member, argued that the city does not have the power to cut off funding because the association's contract with Los Angeles County does not expire until 2018.

"The city has to fund the lake," Loeb said.  "I can't see where there are any other issues beyond that."

Glen Kulick, the association's attorney, said he is willing to meet with all parties and discuss the issue before it goes to a judge.

Mayor Barry Groveman said he is eager to proceed with arbitration.  

"All we want to do is get a mandate we can rely on to protect the entire city from an inappropriate and unwise decision," he said.