Land-Use Lawyer Packs Clout in Politics of Growth

In his measured, mellow voice, the white-haired attorney reads his name and address into the record: “Chuck Cohen. One Boardwalk.”

That introduction seems to say it all.

The most desirable property on a Monopoly board, a Boardwalk address rings with wealth and power. Never mind that the actual Boardwalk, where Cohen has based his law practice for 15 years, is just a spit of a street off Thousand Oaks Boulevard.

In this case, the image is more fitting than the reality.

Tall and vigorous, with a toothy grin and casual, often-mismatched wardrobe, Cohen has represented key projects in Thousand Oaks and throughout Ventura County for more than two decades.

“He is known as Mr. Attorney for any project,” said Harold Reiner, vice president of legal affairs for the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which has hired Cohen to secure city approval for a development in Newbury Park.

Now, at age 60, Cohen is stepping up his already heavy work schedule.

Within two weeks, he plans to release a mission statement for Our Town Forum, the quasi-political group he founded several months ago to counter the growing clout of Thousand Oaks’ anti-growth movement.

He also spearheads the Alliance for the Arts’ effort to raise a multimillion-dollar endowment to support the Civic Arts Plaza auditorium, being built on the site of the former Jungleland amusement park.

And he continues to take on challenging--and controversial--land-use cases. Some of the most disputed developments in Thousand Oaks are on his list, including the Dos Vientos project--2,000 homes and a commercial center slated to be built on a vast vacant lot at the city’s western border.

“All those critics who think I represent too many projects in this city can look forward to no respite,” Cohen joked, noting that as he gets older, he seems to need less sleep.

Some will be unhappy to hear that. For as Cohen himself acknowledges, he has provoked a fair share of criticism over the years.

A former Thousand Oaks mayor, city councilman and planning commissioner who moved to the city even before it was incorporated, Cohen knows the city inside out. And some opponents believe his friendships with officials sway decisions on behalf of his clients.

A few of his critics complain that he and some city officials appear too cozy. Cohen frequently chats with decision makers during breaks in meetings. He uses council phones not open to the public. He includes in his speeches last-minute information that city staff has not analyzed.

“He’s an insider and he’s treated around City Hall like an insider, and that bothers me a lot,” said Cohen’s most open antagonist, Councilwoman Elois Zeanah. “He has access that others are denied.”

Zeanah’s consistent ally on the council, newcomer Jaime Zukowski, suggested that opponents of Cohen’s projects often find themselves at a disadvantage when arguing their cases before the council.

“Citizens are on the short end of the stick unless they have the money to hire those that have access,” she said. “I see a lot of the relationship and the familiarity pushing things through, rather than what’s best for the community.”

In his defense, Cohen said he works hard to maintain “proper and good relations with city staff and elected officials” and pointed out that the Thousand Oaks council has rejected several of his pet projects.

Among his biggest boondoggles was a proposed mall at the corner of Westlake and Thousand Oaks boulevards, which the council shot down a few years ago.

Ironically, the very traits that critics lambaste Cohen for--his networking skills, an insider’s knowledge of city government--earn him praise in other quarters.

Ventura Mayor Greg Carson said he appreciated Cohen’s political courtship during his 1991 election campaign. Now that he’s in office, Carson said, he receives the attorney’s phone calls and frequent mailings, which include clips on policy issues such as environmental regulations.

“Would Chuck Cohen have picked me out of the city of Ventura to be friends with if I were not an elected official? No,” Carson acknowledged. “We do business with the people we like. It’s human nature.”

As a lobbyist with experience across the county, Cohen has a knack for sizing up developments and recognizing almost immediately which features are likely to be unpopular.

“He is extremely knowledgeable about what needs to be done (to win city approval) and he has an exceptional reputation for accuracy, integrity and honesty,” said Dennis Gillette, a vice president at Cal Lutheran University who hired Cohen to get the city’s nod on a radio transmission tower.

When pursuing a client’s interests, Cohen is “quietly relentless,” according to Ventura Councilman Tom Buford.

Nowadays, however, Cohen also needs to be adept at public relations, as sentiment builds against further development in Thousand Oaks and elsewhere.

This visceral reaction, Cohen said, reflects an “ardent, holding-by-the-fingernails grasp on what is, rather than what can be.”

Sitting in his office, surrounded by paintings of parks and oceans, Cohen acknowledged being a bit growth crazy during his City Council stint, from 1966 to 1972. With his laissez-faire philosophy, he was inclined to let most developers build whatever they wanted. Luckily, he said, some of his colleagues had different ideas.

Cohen believes that the city is more beautiful and less developed than it would have been if he’d always had his way.

Nonetheless, Cohen said he will continue to promote development. “Sameness to me seems like stagnation. I’m still optimistic enough to think things can be better than they are now.”

Cohen’s loosely organized political group, Our Town Forum, formed after Zukowski ousted incumbent Bob Lewis in November’s council elections, gathers about 30 citizens who share his interest in stimulating development. The group may sponsor council candidates in the next election, member Fred Wilson said.

This drive to counterbalance the Zeanah-Zukowski faction may reflect Cohen’s competitive streak.

Seemingly unflappable at times, Cohen can erupt in bursts of anger, friends say. When he misses a shot on the tennis court or when the UCLA basketball team blows a lead, he “loses his cool,” said Cohen’s law partner, Leonard Alexander.

At such moments, Cohen doesn’t hesitate to launch tennis balls over the fence or yell at players and referees, said Alexander, who went to school with Cohen in Los Angeles from junior high to law school at UCLA.

Often on the go from 7:30 a.m. to the close of late-night council meetings, Cohen said he tries to reserve Fridays and weekends to spend with his second wife, Eloise, and his stepdaughter, Erika.

But sometimes work intrudes. With clients scattered all over Ventura County and into the San Fernando Valley, Cohen often devotes Sundays to polishing his presentations to city councils and planning commissions.

When prepping for his speeches, he thinks back to his years as an elected official and remembers which styles he found most effective.

“It used to irritate the heck out of me when speakers would use a lot of rhetoric instead of fact. I try to avoid that. There’s always a better chance that I’ll be boring than wrong,” Cohen said.

His technique brings results, according to Arthur Goulet, director of the Ventura County Public Works Agency, who has worked with Cohen on several projects.

“He’s very conversant with the governmental process and he knows what buttons to push when making a presentation,” Goulet said.

Cohen says he still gets nervous when he steps up to the microphone, pins his blueprints to the wall and clears his throat to state his name and address. Experience, however, has calmed the butterflies somewhat.

“I don’t take anything that goes on, including what I do, too seriously,” he said. “It’s all important, but there are so many pressures and variables that you can’t get too excited about it, or it will be too painful. Any one case could blow up in your face.”

Lobbyist’s Profile

Name: Charles (Chuck) Cohen

Birthday: May 23, 1932

Profession: Land-use attorney, Cohen, Alexander & Clayton

Public service: Former Thousand Oaks mayor, city councilman, planning commissioner; past chair of Conejo Future Foundation; chair of Alliance for the Arts Foundation Committee; board member of Conejo Valley Symphony

Education: UCLA, 1955; UCLA law school, 1960

Family: Wife, Eloise; stepdaughter, Erika; sons Tom, Peter; daughter, Jessica Herbert