Thousand Oaks Drops Its Plan to Get Former Jungleland Site

The Thousand Oaks City Council has abandoned the idea of a proposed swap of three parcels of land and about $2 million for the former site of Jungleland, a wild-animal compound and amusement park that closed in 1969 after four decades in operation.

Mayor Alex T. Fiore said the council had been considering the swap with an eye toward using the Jungleland site for a civic auditorium, park facilities and commercial development.

He said the city valued its three parcels in central Thousand Oaks, including the driving range at Los Robles Golf Course, at between $8 million and $9 million.

But Asad Moravati of Los Angeles, owner of the 20 acres that Jungleland used to occupy, considers his land worth an estimated $15 million, according to his attorney, Alan Camp.

Moravati’s own proposal to develop his site, at the southwest corner of Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Conejo School Road in the Old Town area, includes office buildings, a restaurant and a shopping center anchored by a 124,000-square-foot Gemco store.

The city Planning Commission is expected to begin hearings on the proposal in early September. Some residents have opposed the plan, saying the Jungleland site should be preserved as a historic landmark.

“You talk to a lot of people, and the first thing they remember about Thousand Oaks is their trip to Jungleland a long time ago,” Fiore said.