LAKE SHERWOOD : Housing Plan OKd; Ridge Is Exempted

Ventura County Supervisors approved a 353-acre subdivision at Lake Sherwood Ranch after the builder agreed to leave 50 acres along a scenic ridge undeveloped to satisfy the objections of neighbors.

In exchange for abandoning its plans to build 10 single-family houses along Hereford Ridge, LSR Limited Partnership will probably be allowed to increase density in a less sensitive area, said an aide to Supervisor Maria VanderKolk.

Under terms of the agreement approved Tuesday, LSR may build 80 single-family houses on about 247 acres, with lot sizes ranging from as small as a quarter of an acre up to 26 acres.

The 50 acres set aside on Hereford Ridge will be added to the 33 acres of open space originally proposed, said LSR Vice President Elaine Freeman. Another 23 acres will be dedicated as roadways.

The deal leaves just one tract left to be subdivided in the 1,900-acre planned residential community, which, when complete, will include 630 homes in the LSR project. Supervisors approved an environmental review of the entire project in 1987.

The developer’s decision Tuesday to halt building plans on Hereford Ridge was a concession to members of the Lake Sherwood Community Assn., which had protested the firm’s plans to carve building sites along the prominent ridge.

“Everything was going to be blasted flat,” said a VanderKolk spokeswoman of LSR’s plan to create building pads next to the ridge.

The development company presented a tentative plan Tuesday that would allow the firm to increase the density in an already approved subdivision by an additional 15 lots, Freeman said.

If the exchange is approved, “we could build in a more compatible area, and the residents won’t have to worry about Hereford Ridge,” she said.