THOUSAND OAKS : Developers Get OK to Build 522 Homes

Nine developers will be allowed to build 522 apartments and houses in Thousand Oaks, the City Council has decided.

Shapell Industries, the builder of the Rancho Conejo development on the former MGM Ranch, was given allotments to build 150 houses. Courtly Homes and Operating Engineers, developers of Dos Vientos in Newbury Park, were given allotments for building 239 houses. The allotments, given during a council meeting Wednesday, are good for two years.

The council assigns a number of new homes to a developer based on the quality of the project’s design and the developer’s ability to provide public facilities.

The projects have already been approved by the city, but housing allotments allow developers to apply for grading permits, city planner John Prescott said. They still must request building permits to begin construction, he said.

The city’s growth-management ordinance limits building to 500 houses a year, but the city is allowed to borrow up to 162 allotments from future years.