THOUSAND OAKS : Review of Proposed Restaurant Delayed

The Thousand Oaks Planning Commission has postponed its review of a proposal to convert a Westlake office building into a fast-food restaurant after neighbors complained that they had not received adequate notice about the public hearing on the project.

Commissioners voted 4 to 1 this week for a two-week delay in their review of a proposal by Foodmaker Inc. to convert a vacant office building on the 500 block of Hampshire Road into a Jack-in-the-Box outlet. The matter has been rescheduled for the commission’s July 27 meeting.

The vote came after one of the owners of a 494-unit apartment complex near the building submitted a letter objecting to the project and requesting that the public hearing be postponed.

Arthur Burdorf, part owner of the Oak View apartment complex on Hampshire Road, said that the neighborhood is primarily residential and that he is concerned that the restaurant would cause traffic and noise problems.

Michael Sangster, the city’s deputy planning director, told the commission that notices of the public hearing were delayed in the mail because of the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

Commissioner Andrew P. Fox suggested postponing the hearing because, he said, “there appears to be a significant portion of the community that wasn’t able to be here tonight.”

Commissioner Mervyn Kopp cast the only dissenting vote, saying he was concerned about setting a bad precedent by postponing the hearing when the legal obligation to notify property owners near the project site was fulfilled.