Local News in Brief : Thousand Oaks Weighs Care Homes’ Location

The Thousand Oaks City Council is forming a committee to meet with area legislators in an effort to increase the distance between two Newbury Park facilities that care for mentally impaired adults and are now in close proximity.

The community care facilities, operated by Touch of Care Inc., have been criticized by neighbors who allege that the six patients at each facility have been left unsupervised and have threatened the safety of area residents. The owner of Touch of Care, Richard Cohen, has denied the allegations.

Residents repeated their charges at Tuesday’s council meeting and asked the city to close both facilities. But acting City Attorney Mark Sellers said the state, not the city, has control over such homes.

Vice Mayor Alex T. Fiore said that if the council had control over the facilities, it would likely move to close them, or at least have them located farther apart.

The council decided informally to organize a committee of council members and residents to ask lawmakers to introduce legislation to increase the minimum distance between community care facilities. The current minimum is 300 feet. The two Touch of Care facilites are 660 feet apart.