Residents Split Over Expansion of Housing Plan

Residents at a public hearing on the Westlake North Specific Plan were about equally divided in their opinion of an amendment that would change zoning designations and significantly increase the number of houses built.

Supporters said the new plan would provide land for an elementary school and a larger park, while opponents argued that the plan would bring in scores of new people without increasing revenue to the city.

Owner of the property, Richland Westlake Ltd., already has approval to build 179 houses with a four-acre park and 1.4-million square feet of commercial buildings on the site south of Thousand Oaks Boulevard, east of Lindero Canyon Road and north of the Ventura Freeway.

The developer now proposes changing the zoning designations in two areas of the project from commercial use to residential.

Under the amendment, the developer would build 437 houses, a K-12 public school and a park on an 11-acre lot just north of the freeway.

“This [amendment] is a significant improvement to what the owner of this property has the right to build now,� said Robert Haaland), an engineer representing Richland at the hearing Wednesday.

The amendment allows for 664,000 square feet of commercial and office space.

Much of the audience, including officials from the Las Virgenes Unified School District, said the amendment was a better option, because the city would get more out of the plan, including a new school. And they said the larger park is sorely needed in an area with a dearth of recreational facilities.

But opponents said the amendment will bring in more people, have a greater impact on the city’s infrastructure and would not generate revenue to compensate for it.

The council did not vote on the amendment, but instead closed discussion after hearing public testimony.

The hearing is scheduled to resume at 6 p.m. Wednesday.