Panel Approves Plan to Build 685 Homes at Lake Sherwood

The Ventura County Planning Commission approved a plan Thursday to build 685 homes on 1,900 acres of rural land surrounding Lake Sherwood.

After two days of hearings, the commission voted 4 to 1 to approve changes in the county’s General Plan that will allow the Murdock Development Co. to develop the area around the 156-acre, man-made lake, now zoned primarily for open space.

The Board of Supervisors must give final approval to the project after hearings that are scheduled to begin next month. Supervisor Madge Schaefer, who represents the area, which is south of Westlake Village, has said that the project would be viewed favorably by the board because of its benefit to the area.

Commissioners said they approved the project because of developer David Murdock’s promise to preserve and maintain Lake Sherwood as well as to provide the existing 122 homeowners with a new water and sewage system. Homeowners in the area now use well water and septic tanks.

Called Poor Trade-Off

But commissioner Mary Alice Henderson, who voted against the project, said the benefits to homeowners do not compensate for the spoiling of the area’s natural environment.

“The overriding consideration must go beyond the few people living at Lake Sherwood,” Henderson said. “We must consider the entire county.”

Opponents to the plan, including several homeowners associations in the Westlake Village area, said the project would cause dramatic increases in traffic and noise.

The project runs contrary to several county policies that prohibit development in the area, opponents said. For example, the county has generally opposed development in areas outside of city boundaries. The development also contradicts the Santa Monica Mountains Comprehensive Plan, which has been adopted by the county and calls for the area to remain undeveloped.

But the commission majority agreed that the project’s benefits warrant the granting of an exception to those polices.

Smaller-Scale Proposal

Most Lake Sherwood residents who spoke during a daylong commission hearing last week said they backed the proposal, in large part because Murdock has invested $2.5 million over the last two years to restore the lake, which had been dry for two years. Residents also favored the Murdock plan because it was smaller than previous development proposals.

The previous owner, Dayton Realty Co., drained the lake in May, 1984, after the Board of Supervisors denied a plan to build 1,400 homes there. The firm said at the time that the draining was necessary to inspect the Lake Sherwood dam, but homeowners contended that it was retaliation for their opposition to Dayton’s proposal.

The current plan calls for construction of 685 luxury homes and condominiums, as well as an 18-hole golf course, country club and marina. The company has also promised to build a four-lane extension to Potrero Road to accommodate the estimated 2,000 new residents at Lake Sherwood.

Murdock, a Los Angeles-based developer and financier, whose personal wealth is estimated at more than $500 million, has declined to say how much he paid for the lake and surrounding property, or what the estimated value of his development will be when completed.