Builder Lops 2 Houses Off Plan for Hillside Site : Development: The number of posh homes proposed for a Glenoaks Canyon site has gone from 24 to 22, but residents remain firmly opposed.

The developer of the proposed Sleepy Hollow subdivision, whose plans have been fought by some Glenoaks Canyon homeowners, has offered to reduce the number of houses in the hillside development by two.

But City Council members Tuesday, citing the plan’s complexity and the absence of one member, voted to resubmit the plan to the city’s Planning Commission, which deadlocked 2 to 2 earlier this month on developer Ken Doty’s previous proposal of 24 houses for the approximately 30-acre development.

“We did everything we could do,” said Doty, whose newest plan calls for 22 $1-million homes on a hillside east of Sleepy Hollow Place and south of Glenoaks Boulevard, on a site in Glenoaks Canyon. “We’ve cut all we can.”

The newest revision is the latest in a series of modified plans for the subdivision. Glenoaks Canyon residents have fought development since Doty’s plans were introduced five years ago, with 25 houses.

“He simply wants to bulldoze his original devastating project right past us,” said resident Susan Grant.

But John Gantus, an attorney representing Doty, said the changes were substantial. “This plan has many, many new features, especially regarding grading.”

The new plan eliminates two lots, reduces grading and cuts of the canyon’s slopes, and deeds three additional acres, for a total of 19, to the city to be used as open space. But it still calls for cutting a ridge to obtain the dirt needed to fill in a canyon and create sites for the luxury homes, which would be built on about 10 acres of the site.

“It doesn’t matter how you slice it,” resident Paul Chamberlain told the City Council at the public hearing. “It’s still the same project you vetoed.”

A 25-home plan was rejected by a 3-2 council vote last December.

Glenoaks Canyon residents, who have refused to meet with Doty since May, expressed concern over the newest development plan and the resulting delays it will bring.

“It’s unfortunate that we have a plan we haven’t even had a chance to look at,” said Dave Weaver, president of the Glenoaks Canyon Homeowners Assn. “It’s unfortunate he’s still changing his plan on a decision day.”

The City Council was scheduled to vote on the housing plan after the hearing, but Councilman Carl W. Raggio was absent.

Homeowners have urged that the number of homes be scaled back further to protect the ridge, reduce potential environmental damage to the canyon and limit traffic and school crowding.

“He’s come back, and he’s cutting the same ridge.” said resident Larry Meyer. “We can do better. We can do better. We can do a lot better.”

Other alternatives, including limiting the development to as few as 12 homes, were considered but discarded as not financially feasible, Gantus said.

The project is one of four proposed subdivisions exempted from a moratorium on hillside development adopted in 1990 to allow planners to draw up new rules on cutting ridges and grading hillsides.