Voice of the People Speaking Out in Simi : Government: Seventy-one proposals covering a range of topics will be considered in new, less strict zoning ordinance.

Simi Valley resident Franklin Smith wants to be able to worship in a business park, while resident Frank Rozzano is requesting that he be allowed to keep a potbellied pig as a household pet.

These are just a small sampling of 71 proposals the City Council will consider Monday as part of a revised, albeit less strict, zoning ordinance. The requests from Simi Valley residents range from allowing homeowners to build granny flats in their back yards, restaurants to serve meals at sidewalk tables, and a religious group to open a homeless counseling center in a business park.

“We’ve always tried to be flexible,” Mayor Greg Stratton said. “We’ve always believed in common-sense government. When people have a legitimate complaint about something in a code they feel is not quite right, we change it.”

Smith’s congregation, Calvary Chapel of Simi Valley, has asked that it be allowed to lease space in a business park where it can hold regular religious services. The 100-member congregation now meets in the auditorium at Sinaloa Junior High School.

Smith said leasing space in an area zoned for industry is a lot cheaper than it would be in residential or commercial zones. Smith said he and his wife, Carole, used to belong to a congregation that worshiped in a Newbury Park warehouse.

“For a small, young, growing church, it’s appropriate,” he said of the unusual setup. “It certainly is less expensive.”

He said other churches in Westlake Village and Thousands Oaks have settled in business parks primarily because of high real estate prices and resistance from homeowners worried about increases in traffic in their neighborhoods.

He said churches work well in the industry zones because most of their services are conducted during the evenings or on weekends when many business parks are closed.

Stratton said he supports the proposal on the condition that individual churches be required first to apply for a special-use permit so that city officials can make sure no problems will result.

“If it’s done right, I don’t think it’s an unreasonable request,” he said.

He said he felt the same way about a request made by Frank and Lisa Rozzano.

The couple want the city to classify their potbellied pig named Harley--”just like the motorcycle”--as a house pet. Only dogs and cats now fall into that category.

Other smaller animals, such as lizards, snakes and tarantulas, are generally kept caged indoors and do not come under the scrutiny of neighbors, so they are not regulated by city ordinance, officials said.

Despite their petlike qualities, city officials said potbellied pigs could be considered barnyard animals or just nuisances by unsympathetic neighbors.

But Frank Rozzano, who recently purchased his 7 1/2-week-old piglet for $400, said Harley is the ideal pet despite what it might look like.

“They are the most wonderful animals,” he said. “It’s like having a child. You can’t get rid of it. It’s part of the family.”

Rozzano said pigs are becoming more popular as pets. He said Santa Paula recently passed a law that allows residents to keep potbellied pigs at home.

Councilwoman Sandi Webb said she supports the proposal.

“It looks to me like pigs would probably make better pets than dogs,” she said. “Dogs make too much noise, they bite people and just cause too much trouble. I suspect we’ll go for the pigs.”

Stratton agreed.

“I’m assuming if nobody comes in at the last minute with a study that says these animals are really ugly or something, the council will go along with it,” he said.

And if the council doesn’t?

“I will move,” Rozzano said, sounding every bit serious. “I will sell my house.”