THOUSAND OAKS : Planners Approve Westlake Stadium

The Thousand Oaks Planning Commission on Monday approved an application by Westlake High School to build a 4,100-seat athletic stadium that will be financed mainly through community donations.

The commission voted unanimously in favor of the long-planned stadium, which will cover about three-fourths of an acre at the Westlake High campus on Lake View Canyon Road and Thousand Oaks Boulevard.

Because of budget constraints, almost all of the cost for the new stadium is being raised from local residents and businesses by a group called Community Action for Westlake Stadium.

The City Council has agreed to match up to $100,000 of the money raised by the group. The school district will also provide up to $100,000 in matching funds. Since the group was formed in 1987, it has raised $700,000 of the total $1.08 million cost of the stadium, said Michael Chopp, the group’s chairman.

Commissioners also approved waiving the city’s sign ordinance to allow the school district to post between three and six large corporate advertising signs on one inside wall of the stadium.