Simi Planners Approve Challenger Park : Recreation: The action paves the way for officials to apply for federal and state grants to build the 166-acre, $3.5-million community complex.

A proposed 166-acre community park in Simi Valley that would include an amphitheater, nature center, hiking trails and camping area has moved one step closer to reality.

But now the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District must find the money to build it.

The $3.5-million Challenger Park was approved Wednesday by the Simi Valley Planning Commission, paving the way for park district officials to apply for state and federal grant money for construction, said Don Hunt, the district’s assistant general manager.

Although no one knows when the park might be completed, it is viewed as an important addition to the area’s recreation system, Hunt said.

Unlike other parks featuring athletic fields and similarly intensive uses, Challenger Park will focus primarily on simple outdoor enjoyment, he said.

“This will be a natural place for people to visit, to see wildlife, to see natural oak trees and hike the paths,” Hunt said. “That’s a question we constantly hear in this office, ‘Where can we go to do these things?’ ”

Plans approved for the project relaxed conditions initially recommended by city planners. Those conditions had threatened to further stall development of the vacant district-owned land, officials said.

Under an earlier recommendation, the city would have required the financially troubled developer of the neighboring Wood Ranch community to extend 1st Street in front of the park property before the park could be developed for public use.

The park district does not have the money to extend the road. And it appears that the Wood Ranch developer, Olympia/Roberts Co., doesn’t have the money either. The developer defaulted on a $15-million loan last year and since has received several foreclosure extensions from its lender.

City officials relaxed the road-extension requirement at a hearing before the Planning Commission on May 5, instead recommending that the first three phases of a five-part development plan could proceed without having the road in place.

The last two phases, including the outdoor theater and a helipad for firefighting purposes, will have to wait for the street extension, under the plans approved Wednesday.

Instead of having 1st Street for primary access, an existing dirt driveway can be upgraded to serve as a temporary 20-foot-wide entrance to the park’s first three phases on the south side until the street is finished, City Engineer George Berg said.

Plans for the park call for a nature center with educational exhibits and a small camping area for use by organizations on a reservation-only basis, Hunt said. Trails on the property would eventually connect with others in the area, he said.

Eventually, 450 acres of neighboring Wood Ranch, a 3,000-acre planned community, would be deeded to the park district by Olympia/Roberts to connect with Challenger Park, Hunt said.

“People really desire getting into the natural hills and valleys of Simi Valley, and this will provide that opportunity,” Hunt said.