THOUSAND OAKS : Developer Sues City Over Project Denial

A developer who collapsed shortly before the Thousand Oaks City Council rejected his proposal to build a housing project has sued the city, contending the action was illegal and violated the municipal appeals process.

The suit, which Nedjatollah Cohan filed last week in Ventura County Superior Court, asks a judge to overturn the council’s decision.

“The city has done illegal and unjustified acts,” said Ned Cohan’s son Albert, who is project manager for the proposed development.

The 65-year-old senior Cohan said he sank a fortune into the project and asks in the suit for $5 million in expenses that he said he incurred because his project was delayed for more than 10 years.

On June 29, the Thousand Oaks Planning Commission approved Cohan’s proposal to build 170 houses and a shopping center at the corner of Reino Road and Knollwood Avenue in Newbury Park.

But the council appealed the commission’s decision, and overturned it in the early morning hours of July 29.

Just before the council’s decision, Cohan collapsed on the floor of City Hall moaning and sobbing. Paramedics later transported him to Los Robles Regional Medical Center.

Attorney R. David DiJulio said it was inappropriate for the City Council to appeal the project. Instead, an appeal should have been filed by neighbors who opposed the project, he said. In addition, he said, the council failed to specify the grounds of the appeal, which is required in municipal codes.

The suit also accused the council of breaking open-meeting laws by making an emergency decision on July 7 for an item that was not on the council agenda.

Thousand Oaks City Atty. Mark G. Sellers questioned the basis for the suit. The city has the authority to overturn any decision made by the commission, he said.