SIMI VALLEY : Effort to Stop Club’s Construction Denied

A Ventura County court commissioner has denied an effort to halt the construction of a new Boys & Girls Club of Simi Valley.

Commissioner John H. Pattie ruled Wednesday that Simi Valley city officials acted properly in approving plans for the $3.3-million recreation center on Lemon Street at the southwest corner of Rancho Tapo Community Park.

“We’re very pleased,” said Becca Merrell, executive director of the youth club. “He just reinforced what the Planning Commission and the City Council said, which was that things were processed properly.”

CPC Enterprises, which owns the Park Plaza office complex immediately south of the proposed club site, tried to stop the developing by filing a lawsuit. The suit alleges that the club’s design would create an unsightly building that would block the office complex’s view of the park and the mountains to the north.

The developer contended that city officials should have conducted a full environmental impact review of the project to address the design issue.

Pattie said the full report was not needed and denied a motion to send the matter back to the City Council.

Lloyd Green, a partner in CPC Enterprises, said Thursday that his attorney had not yet reviewed Pattie’s written decision. But he said, “There’s no question in my mind that we’ll appeal.”

The nearby Alamo Court Homeowners Assn. originally had joined with the office complex owner in the lawsuit. But the association’s board recently voted to withdraw from the legal action.

Merrell said the club, which has about 2,000 members, will now begin a $1-million fund-raising drive to help pay for the new youth center. She said construction should begin late this year or early next year.