THOUSAND OAKS : Panel Denies 3-Story Building on Hillside

A proposal to construct a three-story commercial building on a hillside along Thousand Oaks Boulevard has been rejected as a dangerous precedent by the Thousand Oaks Planning Commission.

Commissioners voted 3 to 1 to turn down Los Angeles-based developer Lee Mekelburg’s proposal to build the retail and office building on the south side of Thousand Oaks Boulevard just west of Erbes Road.

Commissioner Forrest Frields was absent.

The commissioners said one of their major concerns was that the proposed building would cut into the hillside, requiring 68,000 cubic yards of dirt to be moved. About 5,000 truck trips would be needed to move the soil, said architect Neal Scribner, who designed the project.

In voting against the proposal at Monday’s meeting, Commissioner Marilyn Carpenter called the project “an extremely intense use of the site, requiring major cuts.”

Commissioners added that they did not want to set a precedent for other three-story commercial buildings on Thousand Oaks Boulevard.

“The precedent of having a three-story building, even though it is set back nicely, is a concern,” Commissioner Andrew Fox said.

In addition, commissioners said they were concerned about another proposal by Mekelburg to remove five oak trees from the construction site.

Three of the trees would be transplanted. That proposal will go before the City Council, Fox said. Chairman Mervyn Kopp cast the sole vote in support of the project.

“Any design, any use of this property, is going to involve the removal of dirt,” Kopp said.

Mekelburg said she has tried for seven years to develop the property.

Her previous proposal to build a motel on the site was approved by the Planning Commission but rejected by the City Council, which cited concerns about dirt removal, Mekelburg said.