THOUSAND OAKS : Plan for Flood Basin Submitted to Panel

The Thousand Oaks Planning Commission will consider Monday a developer’s proposal to build a shopping center and 170 housing units on a 47-acre wooded lot that is part of a flood basin.

The proposal by developer Ned Cohan, planned for a parcel at Reino Road and Kimber Drive, is a scaled-down version of a project that was turned down by the commission and City Council last year.

City officials said they denied Cohan’s previous development request partly because they were concerned about possible flooding in the area.

The project Cohan proposed last year was also considered too dense to be compatible with the surrounding neighborhood of single-family homes.

In addition, city officials and nearby residents have been concerned about protecting some of the wetlands and bird habitats on Cohan’s property, Carpenter said. Cohan’s current proposal seeks to address all of these concerns, a staff report showed. He has lowered the number of proposed housing units from 197 to 170, which would include 26 single-family homes and 144 townhouses.

He has also proposed to set aside part of the property for a storm water retention basin to prevent flooding. The basin would be operated by the Ventura County Flood Control District.

In addition, Cohan has redesigned the development to preserve some of the wetlands and bird habitats.

Monday’s meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall.