Conejo Valley Advocates for Sensible Planning
Conejo Valley Advocates for Sensible Planning
The Issue
The State of California periodically mandates that cities provide additional housing, particularly affordable housing, and we recognize this need. However, we must not allow the City of Thousand Oaks to stray from its long-held principle of planning wisely. In May 2021 the City endorsed a proposed Land Use Map which will become effective when the City finalizes the General Plan update later in 2023. It will change zoning in several areas through out the city, including TO Blvd, the Oaks & Janss Malls. We don’t disagree with these locations. We do disagree with changing the Land Use for the 36 acre “Borchard Flood Plain Parcel” from 160 single family homes to Mixed Use. This could result in up to 1,100 units and allow 4 story buildings on a parcel which:
-Is surrounded by single family homes
-Has limited ingress/egress
-Is critical for flood hazard mitigation in the surrounding neighborhoods
No solutions to the eventual traffic, flooding, and environmental impacts have been included with these re-zoning proposals.
Our Mission
As residents of the Conejo Valley, we must hold the City of Thousand Oaks accountable for its proposed amendments to the General Plan. We feel that the “Preferred Land Use Alternative” does not constitute a consensus by local residents and fails to acknowledge future impacts.
We also believe that because Mixed Use is such a broad category
NO LAND USE CHANGE OR UPZONING should be made to the “Borchard Parcel”
until the owner brings forth a proposal which the city can review.
Ultimately, we the residents must live with the outcome, good or bad. To ensure that we do not become victims of poor planning, we ask the City Council and municipal authorities of T.O. slow their rush to alter the General Plan, act with full transparency, and embrace full input from residents living near the sites of proposed re zoning and potential development. Ignoring these requests would be undemocratic and an abuse of power.
In addition Realtors will be required to disclose the potential for development of this parcel. With the uncertainty of what might finally be constructed, potential buyers may be reluctant to purchase homes or the price might be affected. WOULD YOU BUY A HOUSE NEXT TO LAND that could be anything from apartments to hotels to office buildings or nightclubs?
MAKE THE OWNER BRING FORTH A PLAN BEFORE UPZONING OCCURS
Our 2023 Petition Results
Our petition drive ended in April and we presented it to City Council May 2023. We had over 2,100 signatures against making a change to the current land use without a formal plan being presented to the city. Newbury Park has 15,500 households. We physically interacted with 1,108 households in Newbury Park which make our petition results statistically accurate to within an error of margin of 3%. RESULT 2% are in favor of the land use change, 6% had no opinion or didn’t know enough to make a conclusion and 92% signed and are against the land use change at this time.
Click here to read the actual petition https://cvasp.org/this-is-what-our-petition-said/
OUR OTHER INVOLVEMENTS
- November 2021 Caruso Apartments at The Lakes We opposed this project for two reasons. 1)Lack of affordable units. 2) Building height which exceeded the maximum in the proposed General Plan update. Note we didn’t argue with the purchase price, because the city had no choice based on the terms of the original lease agreement.
- June 2022 Kmart Project We supported this 420 unit project. The developer listened to prior Council feedback. The project included affordable units and was designed in such a way to minimize view obstructions from neighboring single family homes. It offered a wide variety of housing options from apartments to townhomes. Hampshire and Westlake both have 101 off-ramps and four lane roads to provide access to the property. Nearby shopping and hiking trails create a walkable community.
- July 2022 Baxter Project We supported this project for 264 apartments which repurposed unused parking at the site across Westlake High. 1) It was well designed with minimal site obstruction. 2) Affordable Units were provided. 3) A walking path provides access to The Promenade Shopping Center, NOTE: Some concerns were raised about traffic across from a school. This has pros and cons. Traffic may increase, but it will also students who live in the apartments will also be able to walk to school.
- 2022-2023 Conejo Gateway Center Although a public meeting was not required we weighed in with the City on updates to this center on Wendy/Old Conejo Roads which will include a day care center and Dunkin Donuts drive-thru. Our concerns centered around the exit point of the drive-thru which is at a point on Wendy where two lanes become one, and a left turn lane onto Bella already create traffic issues. We also met with the developer to provide input and suggestions. The project is going thru but we’ll continue to monitor it.
- November 2023 Janss Marketplace Hotel Project When this project went before the Council in 2021 for greenlighting a 75′ height overlay. We spoke against this due to concerns this overlay could result a a 7 story building. On November 14th 2023 we spoke at the City Council meeting giving our support for the project. 1) It will only be a 5 story building. 2) The developer has many other hotels throughout the state and they operate their hotels after completion. 3) It will be an extended stay hotel providing options for long term business travelers, people relocating while finding a new home and families with a patient in nearby Los Robles Hospital. Currently people with these needs to to Westlake or Camarillo taking money out of our city. 4) It will revitalize the Janss Marketplace.
Take Action-The final decision will be made at the December 5th 2023 City Council Meeting
-Attend the December 5th 2023 City Council meeting.
-Attend the City Council meeting which will vote on the final General Plan (Date TBD Dec 2023-Jan 2024)
-Tell your friends & neighbors.
-Share our website
-Ask to be added to our mailing list for updates.
-Write letters to the Acorn.
-Sign up for emails from the General Plan Update team https://www.toaks2045.org/get-involved
-Write letters to your City Council & Planning Commission
–Mikey Taylor – mtaylor@toaks.org
–Bob Engler – bengler@toaks.org
–Al Adam – aadam@toaks.org
–David Newman – dnewman@toaks.org
–Kevin McNamee – kmcnamee@toaks.org
Gallery
- The city is in the process of updating its GENERAL PLAN for the 1st time since 1970.
- This new plan WILL DEFINE the limits of the city’s growth for the next 25 years.
- In 2021 an urban development firm was hired & paid $1.6 million dollars to assist in designing a new look for our city. They proposed changes through the re-designation of current commercial and even some residential property into areas called “Mixed Use”. These areas consist of commercial, restaurant/retail property intermixed with residential homes, townhomes and apartments.
- 5 “areas of potential zoning change” were identified have been targeted throughout the city in order to attempt to meet the goals for housing set by the state of California. They are Downtown/TO Blvd, Moorpark Rd/West TO, Westlake/East TO, Newbury Park N of 101, and Newbury Park S of 101. Several retail Village Centers were also identified as areas to incorporate mixed-use housing.
- In May 2021 the City Council endorsed a final map with the changes, but this does not become effective until the Council finalizes the General Plan which won’t take place until late 2023.
Facts & Figures You Should Know
How many of the 2621 units will be affordable?
Areas targeted for change
- Based on our current General Plan “full buildout” would allow 81,124 housing units. Due to Measure E
passed in 1996 this amount cannot be increased without a Ballot Measure. This amount can also not be
decreased due to passage of SB330-Housing Crisis Act in 2019. - Currently we have approximately 48,000 housing units in the city, which means our current General Plan would allow for an additional 33,000 units. THIS TOTAL AMOUNT CANNOT BE DECREASED
- Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) assign each city a housing amount need over an 8 year period. Thousand Oaks has only been assigned 2,621 housing units for the period 2021-2028. The city must provide a plan to the state to show how this will be met.
- This proposed new General Plan basically takes these unused 33,000 units & moves them into the 4 areas of change & 7 Village Centers creating areas of hi density 3&4 story buildings.
- Once these areas are identified for mixed-use we may never be able to go back. WHY ARE WE GIVING THE STATE MORE THAN IS REQUIRED?
Stay In Touch
Any emails are kept in strictest confidence. Your privacy is assured.
Our members include professionals with strong research skills. After reading both Surveys for a General Plan Update, it became evident that vital information was missing or obfuscated. We reached out to experts to clarify claims. We present our findings for residents to use as references, as they complete the new Survey AND GIVE INPUT TO THE CITY. We are long-time residents of Thousand Oaks, with experience in slow growth issues dating back to 1990. Some of us worked on the first SOAR initiative; MANY more on the second. We have no financial or professional conflicts of interest. We hope you will peruse our website at CVASP.org. Please join our efforts for sensible planning and growth. Our spokespeople are Karen Wilburn and Michelle Koetke.
Charts and Maps
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Charts and Maps
All Charts and Maps are shown below