Thousand Oaks Developer Offers Deal for Subdivision

Developers of a proposed $570-million Thousand Oaks housing project offered to help the city buy a nearby ranch for use as open space if the City Council approves their 3,675-home development.

Charles W. Cohen, an attorney representing owners of the Dos Vientos Ranch development, said at a public hearing Tuesday that his clients would contribute money for the purchase of the 635-acre Broome Ranch in exchange for project approval. The City Council adjourned the hearing until Tuesday to study the offer and to allow for more public testimony.

“The developers are willing to work with the city to acquire the property and to put a reasonable amount of money toward its acquisition,” Cohen said.

The Planning Commission in July voted to allow only 1,600 homes and condominiums to be built on the rural Dos Vientos Ranch. Project developers Courtly Homes of Los Angeles and the Operating Engineers Pension Trust of Pasadena had sought approval for 3,940 homes. Developers insist that they need to build a minimum of 3,675 homes to make the project economically feasible.

How much money the developers are willing to donate “is a function of how many units we can preserve in the project,” Cohen said. He said he did not know if the Broome Ranch property is for sale.

Residents who spoke against the project during the nearly four-hour hearing said they oppose it because of increases in noise and traffic.

Those speaking in favor said the project would raise property values in nearby Newbury Park neighborhoods and provide a number of benefits to the city, such as a park, two school sites and a shopping center.

Owners say they want to develop 2,330 acres of the 4,570-acre Dos Vientos Ranch, between Potrero Road and the Ventura Freeway outside of the southwest city limits. It is one of the largest undeveloped tracts in the area.

The City Council must approve several land-use changes and annex the Ventura County property before it can be developed.

Thousand Oaks officials had expressed an interest in acquiring the Broome Ranch last spring, but it was sold instead to an Arizona developer, officials said.