City Scraps Plans for Water Park

After seven years, city officials have decided not to build a large aquatic center at Juan Bautista De Anza Park due to overwhelming community opposition.

At the most recent city council meeting, City Manager Tony Coroalles said scaled-down plan under consideration by the Parks and Recreation Commission lacked community support. The city council subsequently voted to close the issue.

Seven years ago, the City of Calabasas sent out a survey to residents. They said that a “consistent theme” in the responses to that survey was to build an aquatics complex.

The proposal was to build a year round pool, a lazy river, spray-water playground, a large slide and a number of other structures ranging from a snack shop to locker rooms.

Initial estimates to build the facility range from $6 to $8 million, in addition to unspecified operating and maintenance costs.

Officials say there would be other issues likely to arise would be traffic congestion, noise, lighting, security and other problems associated with a high usage facility.

The Acorn wrote that council member James Bozajian said of the proposal, “It looks like a Las Vegas hotel rather than what it should look like, which is a natural area.”

Some noted the irony in building a water park in a city known for cracking down on what it sees as water overuse and runoff. If a community group wants to hold a car wash fundraiser, it would first need to apply for a permit, which requires a $170 fee and $10,000 bond, as well as adhere to stringent wastewater regulations.