City Sets Out to Save Hillsides in Simi Valley

Simi Valley officials are drafting an ordinance to protect scenic hillsides that surround the city from overdevelopment, a spokesman for the city’s community development department said Thursday.

The ordinance would ban residential, commercial and industrial development on hillsides with slopes of 20% or more, planner Sam Freed said. A public hearing on the measure is likely to be held by the city’s Planning Commission early next month, he said.

Now in effect is a 1978 ordinance restricting only residential development on hillsides with slopes of 20% or more. But the city’s evolution in the past decade from a sleepy bedroom community into one of Ventura County’s fastest-growing cities spurred officials to draft a more restrictive ordinance, Freed said.

“There is a strong community feeling in the city to protect the hillsides and prevent the ridge line from overdevelopment,” Freed said.

The ordinance would not govern projects approved before the city updates its general plan in September, Freed said.