Lynn Ranch Gate Plan Sparks a War : Life style: A proposal to enclose this rustic enclave has feuding neighbors hiring attorneys--and slamming doors and telephones.

Lynn Ranch in eastern Ventura County has long been cherished by residents as an old-fashioned rural refuge from suburban sprawl with acre-sized lots. But in the past year, a dispute over enclosing the ranch behind guarded gates has divided neighbors, embroiling them in the aggravations of modern life many sought to escape.

“Unfortunately, this thing has really polarized residents so that you’ve got real zealots on both sides,” said resident Bill Kannow. “We were a real nice, rural community before this. Now people are taking stands against each other.”

Pro- and anti-gating committees have retained lawyers and published arguments and rebuttals. Thousands of dollars have been spent on legal fees and a traffic study. Doors have been slammed and phones hung up during the debate.

Residents of the 640-house development, which lies in an unincorporated pocket of Ventura County within the city of Thousand Oaks, will vote today, Friday and Saturday on whether to build gates at three entrances off Lynn Road, hire private security guards and assume financial responsibility from the county for maintaining nearly 10 miles of streets.

Although guarded entrances have become fashionable, Ventura County officials said the Lynn Ranch proposal is unusual because it involves an established neighborhood in which membership is not required, and owners do not share common property, such as a clubhouse.

Grant Brimhall, city manager of Thousand Oaks and a resident of Lynn Ranch, said he knew of no other established development in the area that had added gates and guards.

Robert Braitman, executive director of the Ventura County Local Agency Formation Commission, said the Lynn Ranch proposal was unprecedented in Ventura County for its proposed takeover of public streets by a private group.

“I feet gating would close if off and keep it from being the open and pleasant place it is now,” said Brimhall, an opponent who has lived in the community nearly 12 years.

Even if most of the property owners vote in favor of the gating proposal--and a yearly assessment that would start at $600 per parcel and could annually increase--the Ventura County Board of Supervisors still would have to approve the streets’ conversion from public to private use.

Results of the voting are not expected to be made public until later this month because absentee votes are being accepted through Dec. 24.

The ranch’s tradition of independence could make it more difficult for the gating plan to win approval. Because it was developed in phases by various builders, the ranch includes 12 different tracts, each with its own set of deed covenants and restrictions. To put the proposal before the county supervisors, more than a simple majority of residents is required--a majority of each tract must vote in the proposal’s favor.

Gate proponents interviewed cited crime as the major reason for enclosing the ranch, although a brochure promoting the plan also touted enhanced property values and protection against annexation by Thousand Oaks.

Pro-gating activists Susan Pavlik and Barry Sweet, who fled the San Fernando Valley for Lynn Ranch, both said they have been victims of crime. Pavlik said her house was burglarized almost a year ago while her family slept. Sweet complained of an attempt to steal his son’s truck and of vandals who destroyed his mailbox.

“It may not sound like much,” said Sweet. “But when you spend $100 for a hand-painted, wooden mailbox, it gets expensive.”

Concern about crime aside, a housing- and community-development specialist at UCLA’s School of Architecture and Urban Planning offered a deeper reason for the gating trend.

“It has to do with a growing sense of loss of control in general, and a growing sense of chaos,” said Allan Heskin, an associate professor of urban planning.

“The desire to have some order and some control in your life is basic. I think it’s more than simply bigotry or fear of crime. Everything is getting bigger. Everything is susceptible to change. People don’t feel protected anymore.”

But loss of control is why residents Caroline and Fred Howse oppose the gating plan.

The couple, who bought their home in Lynn Ranch 27 years ago, said that under the proposal, a newly empowered homeowners association board of directors would be able to raise annual maintenance fees and levy emergency assessments. Membership in the homeowners association would become mandatory instead of voluntary, they added, and the association could be held liable if anyone were injured on the ranch’s streets or horse trails.

Caroline Howse said she was stunned when a fellow resident casually explained that if a property owner couldn’t pay, “we’ll just put a lien on their house and collect when they sell or die.”

Kannow, an attorney and relative newcomer to the ranch, said he can easily afford the assessments but opposes gating out of concern for longtime residents who are older and on fixed incomes.

“Many people here bought their homes 25 years ago, before values went up and it was a relatively inexpensive place to buy,” he said. “There’s no guarantee against special assessments. . . . It’s unfair.”

Developed before Thousand Oaks became a city 25 years ago, Lynn Ranch is an island of 538 acres, surrounded by Thousand Oaks. Residents would like to keep it that way. Last year, a majority voted against annexation, despite the arguments of Ventura and Thousand Oaks officials that government services would improve without additional cost.