Builder Gives $25,000 From Lawsuit for Public Works

The first $25,000 a Thousand Oaks homeowners group paid a developer to resolve a lawsuit will help build a performing arts center, fund a regional study and keep a social service agency open.

A Lang Ranch Co. official announced Tuesday that the firm will donate the payment to three nonprofit community organizations. They are the Conejo Future Foundation, a think tank working on a regional traffic and employment study; Alliance for the Arts, which is raising money for a cultural center, and Under One Roof, which last year built a $2.6-million social service agency.

“It’s my hope that this donation will add a positive note,” said David Green, a managing partner with the firm. “The whole misguided matter was a waste of time, money and energy.”

The company received the money under a $123,000 settlement with the Westlake North Property Owners Assn. The homeowners last year filed a lawsuit against the firm, one of two developers of the 2,500-acre Lang Ranch. The suit claimed that the housing project would create traffic and air quality problems.

Suit Called Frivolous

In February, U.S. District Judge Dickran Tevrizian Jr. called the suit frivolous and ordered the homeowners to pay the company $688,000. The 450 homeowners could have appealed the judgment, but the majority agreed in May to settle the case.

The remaining money from the homeowner group is due next June, Green said. The company has not decided whether to donate those funds to nonprofit agencies, he said.

Rick Dixon, president of the homeowners group, said he was surprised and pleased at the company’s gesture.

“It seems as if our money has taken a circular route back to the community,” Dixon said. “Since we had no choice but to pay, the fact that the money is being put back in the community makes me very happy.”