Developer’s Change Stalls Thousand Oaks Project
The Thousand Oaks City Council on Tuesday refused to consider a development proposal for the former MGM Ranch after last-minute plans were unveiled for 500 more homes.
Representatives of Shapell Industries of Beverly Hills, the project developer, presented plans for 1,500 homes and apartments, a 154-acre golf course and 100 acres of industrial development on the property, just outside of the western city limits at the northern end of Rancho Conejo Boulevard.
The development would add about 4,600 residents to Thousand Oaks, city planners said.
But the council hearing was scheduled to consider a plan to build 1,093 homes on the 1,860-acre property. The Planning Commission in July had recommended approval of that development.
The council referred the proposal to the Planning Commission for an Oct. 19 public hearing.
“They have a history of making changes in their project,” Thousand Oaks Mayor Frank Schillo said. “But it’s a very sensitive site, and there is no way we are going to approve a project before the Planning Commission reviews it first.”
The company had received approval for a 1,851-unit housing project in 1983 but later changed its plan to a mostly industrial development, a city report said. That proposal was denied by the city in 1985, the report said.
Development of the property will require several zoning changes and annexation from Ventura County to Thousand Oaks, city officials said.
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