Simi Valley to File Suit Over Unbuilt Road

The Simi Valley City Council, concerned that a key road may never be built, ordered its staff Monday to file a lawsuit against neighboring Thousand Oaks.

The move came on the heels of a Thousand Oaks City Council vote to delete from the city’s General Plan a two-mile extension of Sunset Hills Boulevard, which would connect it to 1st Street in Simi Valley.

Thousand Oaks officials said the extension would greatly increase traffic in the residential neighborhood along Sunset Hills Boulevard. They also said it is no longer needed because the city’s population is not expected to grow as much as expected when the General Plan was adopted 23 years ago.

But Simi Valley Mayor Greg Stratton said that if the extension is not built, several Simi Valley intersections will become clogged as his city grows. Now, only a single major street, Olsen Road, links the two cities.

After meeting with Simi Valley City Atty. John Torrance in a closed session, Stratton announced that the city would take Thousand Oaks to court to settle the matter.

“We felt there was no . . . option available other than to file a lawsuit against the city of Thousand Oaks,” Stratton said.

Stratton said he hoped the legal move would spur Thousand Oaks officials to meet with Simi Valley officials in an effort to settle the matter out of court.