Countywide : Board Will Fund Cityhood Study

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors has voted to fund a study of whether Oak Park should become an incorporated city.

The study, to be conducted by Arroyo Seco Associates, Inc. for about $4,800, will analyze whether Oak Park residents would receive a higher level of service than they now receive if they were to become citizens of an incorporated city or citizens of an area annexed into Thousand Oaks, said Lenora Kirby, an administrative aide to Supervisor Maria VanderKolk.

Some Oak Park residents have been arguing in favor of cityhood for more than a year, while others have argued that annexation to Thousand Oaks may be a better way to increase the level of service. A preliminary study conducted last year found no fatal flaws that would prevent incorporation, Kirby said.

Results from the study approved by the board at its Tuesday meeting are due later this summer, Kirby said.