COUNTYWIDE : Thousand Oaks Backs CSU Site

The Thousand Oaks City Council on Tuesday night endorsed a plan to build a California State University campus near Camarillo.

The council voted 3 to 1 to send a letter to university trustees in support of building the campus on 320 acres of farmland west of Camarillo.

Councilwoman Elois Zeanah dissented; Councilman Bob Lewis was absent.

The parcel, known as the Duntley/Chaffee site, is next to Ventura School, a California Youth Authority facility.

Council members endorsed placing a campus near Camarillo because it would be a shorter commute for Conejo Valley students than other proposed sites in Oxnard and Ventura. Students now commute to Northridge to attend a Cal State campus.

“From the eastern end of the county, it’s certainly the most accessible and convenient,” Councilwoman Judy Lazar said of the Camarillo site.

July 27 is the final day for the public to comment on a lengthy environmental report on the Camarillo site. Cal State trustees are scheduled to pick a site when they meet in Long Beach in early September.

The letter in support of the Duntley/Chaffee site is expected to be sent out today, said Ed Johnduff, city administrative services manager.

Thousand Oaks has one college campus within its limits, private California Lutheran University.