Barriers at Civic Arts Plaza to Cost $150,000 : Thousand Oaks: City will build walls if it cannot reach an agreement to purchase adjacent, junk-strewn property.

The city of Thousand Oaks will have to spend $150,000 or more to build walls around a junk-strewn equipment yard at the entrance to its Civic Arts Plaza if it cannot reach a purchase agreement with the property owner, officials said Wednesday.

City officials, whose offer of $420,000 has been rejected by owner Robert Heggen, had previously refused to disclose the cost of the walls.

Mayor Judy Lazar said Wednesday the city may re-evaluate its offer--which was based on a city-commissioned land appraisal--because of the sum required to construct the barriers. Heggen is asking $1.4 million for his half-acre parcel, where he operates a land-grading and equipment-rental business, but he has said he is willing to negotiate.

“The cost of the retaining wall is a factor that the City Council will have to consider,” said Lazar, who joined the rest of the council in closed session early Wednesday to discuss acquisition of Heggen’s property.

Although the property owner has already missed the city’s Tuesday deadline to come to an agreement, Lazar said the city has not closed the door on negotiations.

“There’s still a little bit of leeway, a little bit of time left,” she said. “I think the city is willing to look at anything that is reasonable.”

Heggen said he was somewhat encouraged by the city’s stance, but added: “I haven’t heard an offer yet.” He still wants an independent appraisal of his property, which could take a month, he said.

Lazar would not say how much more the city might be willing to pay for the property, which is at Oakwood Drive and Thousand Oaks Boulevard, next to where the $64-million Civic Arts Plaza is being built. Although the walls would be costly, it would save the city money, she said. “If we build the wall, we don’t have to buy the property.”

The walls would be built on three sides of Heggen’s long, narrow property, reaching 15 to 18 feet high at the south end and extending about 200 feet toward Thousand Oaks Boulevard to the north, said Ed Johnduff, project manager of the Civic Arts Plaza. The walls would gradually get lower as they approached the boulevard, he said.

Another wall would be built on the west side of Oakwood Drive to alleviate some of the noise and traffic problems generated by the project, Johnduff said. Several people live just to the west of Oakwood Drive.

Building the walls would cost between $150,000 and $160,000, Johnduff said.

The mayor and other city officials admit that while the walls would at least partly block the view of Heggen’s junk- and equipment-strewn property, the overall aesthetics of the Civic Arts Plaza would be greatly improved if the city acquired the property. It would also allow a widening of Oakwood Drive, which would improve traffic flow into the plaza.

“Of course, we would like to acquire the property and integrate it into the development,” Lazar said. “It would make the project look infinitely better.”

The city had considered acquiring the property through eminent domain about two years ago, before construction on the plaza began. Officials backed down in the face of considerable public opposition to taking the land. The property was then occupied by Heggen’s elderly mother, who died in October.

Lazar made it clear that the city is growing impatient with Heggen and will not wait much longer to strike a deal.

“We’re not going to hold off on Mr. Heggen much longer,” she said. “We’re not going to be held up by someone who is bent on highway robbery.”