After a five-hour public hearing Thursday night, the Agoura Hills City Council unanimously decided to postpone a vote on a developer's plan to build restaurants and shops on Canwood Street.

Adler Realty Investments Inc. appealed to the council to overrule the Planning Commission, which earlier this year withheld approval of the commercial real estate project known as The Shops at Oak Creek.

Danari Oak Creek, a wing of the Woodland Hills-based firm, wants to develop five detached buildings totaling about 34,000 square feet. The site straddles Medea Creek on the north side of Canwood Street, east of Kanan Road, at 28941-29145 Canwood St.

Adler bought the property from J.H. Snyder Co., which built the 336-unit Oak Creek Apartments nearby.

The Planning Commission's decision was based on a number of concerns involving building configurations, landscaping and pedestrian mobility.

Adler's president, Mike Adler, said he hopes to lease to a number of upscale restaurant tenants including an Asian fish restaurant and an Argentine steakhouse. He said he also is speaking with representatives of a retail lighting store.

Most of the council's debate revolved around members' concerns over aesthetic aspects of the project and Adler's need to make the site marketable, and the need to provide sufficient parking space without compromising the visual quality of the property.

Councilman Dan Kuperberg said the applicant had been inflexible over the past four years and was unwilling to accommodate the city's recommendations.

"Attending meetings and responding to them are two different things," Kuperberg said. "I sat at the meetings with Mr. Adler and when changes were recommended, he objected. I don't believe he is amenable to change. They haven't changed anything in four years."

Kuperberg emphasized his view that the developer's plan provides insufficient visibility of an oak tree near the main entrance. Kuperberg suggested that any community support for the project was because of an e-mail sent out by Adler that warned the city's rejection of the proposal would result in an office complex without restaurants or retail stores.

Four members of the public addressed the council in support of the project. No member of the public spoke against it.

Kuperberg also spoke of his interest in a "restaurant row" atmosphere, which he felt was the originally intended purpose of the development. "I would like to have some assurance that this will be mostly restaurants."

Councilman Denis Weber strongly disagreed.

"I think we are micromanaging this too much," Weber said. "This is a great use of the site. You have to take some risks and at some point you must have some trust."

Weber disagreed with those who criticize the visibility of the oak tree or the configuration of the buildings.

"I don't see those buildings as too linear at all," Weber said. "This does not look like a strip mall."

Councilman William Koehler expressed support for Adler's suggestion to approve the west side of the complex only, allowing for more time to make changes in the eastern half.

Kuperberg and Mayor Jon Edelston cautioned against approving only one side, warning of a danger of "hodgepodge" or "fragmented" development.

Adler's lawyer Chuck Cohen told the council that his client would agree to spend the next several weeks analyzing the council's recommendations and looking for solutions.

"We think that what has been presented is excellent and we make no apologies for it, but we are realists," Cohen said. "We will make a good-faith effort. I'm not promising we will do everything Mr. Kuperberg wants."

The next public hearing on the appeal will be at the council meeting June 25.