Pleasure Faire Asks for Permit to Use Site in Ventura County

Operators of the Renaissance Pleasure Faire applied for a permit Friday to stage the Elizabethan festival on 139 acres in eastern Ventura County.

The nearby cities of Moorpark and Thousand Oaks have already opposed use of the site on unincorporated land at Tierra Rejada and Moorpark roads, citing environmental concerns about holding such a large event there.

In their application for a conditional use permit, fair operators said the event will bring 4,702 cars to the area at the peak afternoon hour Saturdays and 5,762 cars at the peak hour Sundays.

1,460 Employees

The application, prepared for the Novato, Calif.-based Living History Centre by a San Rafael engineering firm, said the fair would employ 1,000 performers, 440 service workers and 20 private security personnel.

Fair operators are asking to hold the event on eight consecutive weekends starting May 6, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. The application asks permission for large trucks to enter and leave the area between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. on days the fair operates. It said the fair would have electrical generators about 1,000 feet from the nearest homes.

The fair would have 200 display or vending booths for various handicraft items, the document said. The fair would erect 240 temporary sets of varying heights, with some as high as two stories, to be used by performers, it said.

The lengthy permit application will be sent to county agencies and the cities of Moorpark, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley and Camarillo, which will have 30 days to comment.

Planning Division Role

The Ventura County Planning Division has authority to approve or deny the application, said Paul Porter, county planner. But planners could refer the decision to the county Planning Commission, whose decision could be appealed to the Board of Supervisors, Porter said.

A letter this week from the Thousand Oaks City Council to county officials said the city opposes “any intensive land use for any commercial purpose” in the Tierra Rejada Valley. Fair officials deny that the event is commercial.

The Moorpark City Council also voted this week to oppose the fair’s use of the property and to ask for an environmental impact report if the county approves a permit over the city’s objections.