Service Group, Not Cult, to Get Land, Owner Says

Relax, Thousand Oaks. The “Moonies” are not coming.

Ed Sarnoff, a West Los Angeles man who unsuccessfully tried for seven years to persuade Thousand Oaks officials to permit development of his four-acre parcel, was threatening to give the land to the controversial Unification Church, headed by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon. Sarnoff said on Monday that he still is giving the land away--but to a social service organization.

But Sarnoff said he is still incensed at having his development proposals turned down six times by Thousand Oaks city staff, planning commissioners and council members, the latest rejection coming two weeks ago.

“You buy land for retirement purposes and they won’t let you do anything with it,” said Sarnoff, 65, owner of a Los Angeles-based court reporting firm. “It’s just not right.”

City officials said Sarnoff’s proposals were rejected because they called for more residential units than allowed under city law, or called for a use that is not permitted by zoning.

Sarnoff bought the land and 21 surrounding acres in 1957, “when sheep were roaming out there,” he said. He subsequently sold 20 acres to the late actor Jack Webb. He also sold half an acre to the city and donated another half-acre parcel to the city.

Since 1978, Sarnoff said, he reached agreement with developers to sell the remaining four acres six times. But each deal fell through when the city rejected the proposals his buyers came up with. The proposals included construction of a convalescent hospital and housing developments of 17 and 24 units.

Owner’s Latest Setback

Sarnoff’s latest setback with the land, situated off Olsen Road near Cal Lutheran College, came on a plan to build about 211 apartments and condominiums for the elderly.

Sarnoff and the developer, Scott Howell of Calmark Construction Co. of Los Angeles, said the project called for low rents, ranging from $395 to $595, and van transportation to nearby shopping centers. They said these proposals should have made it attractive to the council.

But the council voted down Howell’s proposal because it amounted to far more units than allowed under zoning, according to Larry Marquart, the city’s senior planner. The site also was too far from the city’s core, where many seniors shop and socialize, he said.

“What irked me and pushed me over the cliff,” Sarnoff said, “was that these so-called representatives of the City of Thousand Oaks . . . gave the builder five minutes to present the proposal and half of them were sleeping at the time.

“There has been a vendetta by the city against me,” Sarnoff said, noting that the zoning for his property has been changed over the years from permitting 30 units an acre to the present four units an acre.

Sarnoff said he “got so ticked off” with the council, “my first instinct was, ‘I’ll show those guys. Nobody wants the Moonies.’ ”

Sarnoff’s announcement that he would donate the land to the Unification Church did not go over very well in the community.

“My first reaction was: I asked if he was kicking his feet and slamming his fists on the floor, like a child in a temper tantrum,” Councilwoman Madge L. Schaefer said.

Said Councilman Alex T. Fiore: “I thought it was an idle threat or a weak attempt at blackmailing the city into giving him what he thought he should have.”

After considering his threat for a few days, Sarnoff said, “reason took over” and he decided instead to donate the parcel, worth $500,000, to Chabad, a nonprofit organization that operates drug counseling, education and other social service programs.

Rabbi Boruch Shlomo Cunin, the West Coast director of Chabad, said he is “very, very happy” about the donation, but that no use for the land has been decided.

City officials said they are happy with the decision.

“I think it’s admirable,” Fiore said. “But whoever he donates it to will have to come up with a proposal that is acceptable to the zoning and the people.”