THOUSAND OAKS : University’s Plan to Build Antenna OKd

Citing communitywide educational benefits and minimal environmental damage, the Thousand Oaks City Council on Tuesday night approved Cal Lutheran’s plan to build an FM radio antenna on the ridgeline north of Rancho Conejo Boulevard.

The decision allowing the 150-foot radio tower and nearby equipment building ends several months of negotiating.

The Planning Commission in mid-December turned down the university’s request for a zoning change that would allow the FM antenna, arguing that the radio tower would mar the ridgeline and violate the city’s commitment to preserving open space free from unsightly man-made intrusion.

The council, however, overrode the Planning Commission’s rejection Tuesday night, accepting CLU’s appeal on the grounds that a public, university-run radio station would benefit the community.

Because three high-voltage electrical transmission towers already rise from the Rancho Conejo ridge, breaking its natural silhouette, the antenna would not create a blatant blemish, the council ruled.

Cal Lutheran initially proposed building an antenna on its own campus, just north of Mount Clef ridge.

But the university withdrew that plan after neighbors complained that the tower would block their views and create an eyesore.

In October, Cal Lutheran suggested the Rancho Conejo ridgeline as an alternative site.