THOUSAND OAKS : Cal Lutheran Urges Delay on Tower Vote

In a surprise move, Cal Lutheran University representatives on Tuesday night asked the Thousand Oaks City Council to delay indefinitely a decision to approve a 150-foot-tall radio tower at Mt. Clef ridge.

“Mt. Clef is still the best site we’re aware of,” Chuck Cohen, an attorney representing Cal Lutheran, said before the council voted 4 to 1 to grant the request.

“But we saw that the community (and) local neighbors had raised considerable concerns about the tower in that specific location,” Cohen said.

Council members said they granted the delay to give Cal Lutheran time to consider other possible sites for the radio tower.

Councilwoman Elois Zeanah was the only member who opposed the delay. “I’m not sure what a continuance will do, except delay people’s fears,” she said.

The radio tower has unleashed protests among homeowners in Thousand Oaks and the Santa Rosa Valley. Many complain that the tower would destroy their views of scenic ridgelines.

Last week, a homeowners group submitted 478 signatures on a petition urging the council to reject the Planning Commission’s decision last month to allow the tower to be built.

Also, Ventura County Supervisor Maria VanderKolk sent a letter this week to city officials, urging the city to look alternative sites, such as Rasnow Peak.

Cal Lutheran President Jerry H. Miller said the university’s plans to establish a public broadcasting station would be set back about six months to a year by the delay. If an alternate site is selected, it would cost the university about $50,000 in application fees to the Federal Communications Commission and other agencies, Cohen said.

Opponents of the tower said they were disappointed by the council’s decision to grant the delay.

“It keeps us wondering about what’s going to happen to our ridge,” said Denise Filz, a spokeswoman for Friends of Mt. Clef Ridge, a group of homeowners who live near the campus. “This way, it’s in limbo for us in our minds.”

Joe Lovretovich, president of the Santa Rosa Valley Community Assn., said he believes that opponents have been hurt by the council’s decision.

“The longer they delay this thing, the harder it’s going to be to get community support behind us,” he said.