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Hopetown Project Gets Tentative Simi OK

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The Simi Valley City Council has given preliminary approval to development of Hopetown, an abandoned movie lot owned by comedian Bob Hope. But a group of nearby residents will seek to block development of the 220.5-acre parcel, a member of the group’s executive board said Tuesday.

The council voted 4 to 1 Monday evening to approve in principle the construction of 280 single-family homes on 40 acres of the property, the development of 15.6 acres for a light industrial or business park and a recreational park on 16.9 acres. The rest of the land, most of it rocky hillsides, would remain undeveloped.

The council scheduled for May 6 a vote on a proposed ordinance that would change the city’s general plan to accommodate the development.

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The development proposal was opposed by the residents’ group, called Citizen’s Aware of a Sensible Environment. Betty Monson, a member of the organization’s executive board, said that, if the council gives final approval to the development, the group probably will mount a referendum drive to overturn the decision.

Monson said the group does not object to the housing part of the plan but opposes any industrial use of the land, which is being bought from Hope by the Griffin Development Co. for an estimated $4 million to $6 million.

The group would have 30 days after obtaining petitions from the city clerk to gather about 4,200 signatures of registered voters from Simi Valley. If the signatures were obtained, the council would have to rescind its approval or schedule a special election on the ordinance.

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