City OKs Gates for Condominiums

Overriding objections by a handful of vocal homeowners, the Thousand Oaks City Council voted 4 to 1 to allow residents of the 80-unit Braemer Gardens condominium complex to install gates and convert four cul-de-sacs into private streets.

Mayor Judy Lazar, who lives in a gated community, dissented. She argued that gates can be noisy, expensive and of limited use in deterring criminals, who glide through behind residents’ cars. Furthermore, she said, the proposed gates would only “dubiously” meet city standards for design and traffic safety.

But in the vote early Wednesday, a majority of council members sided with the 90% of homeowners who signed a petition requesting the gates.

Citing an upsurge in vandalism, graffiti and late-night noise, half a dozen speakers wearing “Gates Yes” badges told the council that they were willing to pay $500 each to install the barriers and $5 a month to maintain their streets, located opposite the North Ranch play field.

“This is an unpretentious, middle-class neighborhood, and the desire for gates is not a status thing . . . but flows from real fears and real concerns,” said Ed Jones, a former mayor hired by the homeowners association as a consultant.

Opponents of the plan argued that blocking the four dead-end streets would detract from Thousand Oaks’ open atmosphere. But supporters countered that only unwanted solicitors, taggers and teen-agers aimlessly cruising the neighborhood would be deterred.

“I think everybody will find after a while that it’s a pain to have a gate,” Councilman Frank Schillo said after the two-hour hearing. “But I find it hard to go against the majority, and 90% of the residents want gates.”