THOUSAND OAKS : Open Space Agency Honored by State

The Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency has won a state award for excellence in environmental planning and will be recognized by Gov. Pete Wilson in a special ceremony.

COSCA, a joint agency of the city of Thousand Oaks and the Conejo Recreation and Park District, won the award for its efforts to acquire and preserve parkland. The agency manages about 11,000 acres of open space in and around the city.

“It’s an outstanding program which deserves to be recognized and hopefully serve as a model for other cities,” said Clark Goecker, executive director of the nonprofit Institute for Local Self Government, which bestowed the award.

Thousand Oaks has competed for the award, named after the late Sonoma County Supervisor Helen Putnam, in several other categories over the years. But this is the first time a city program has won the honor. About 10 other cities competed for the environmental award, Goecker said.

“It’s a high honor for the city,” said Councilman Frank Schillo, who sits on the COSCA board of directors.

Wilson will present COSCA with an award plaque during a ceremony in Sacramento, tentatively scheduled for November.

In other business, COSCA has formally agreed to accept title to about one-third of the 640-acre Broome Ranch in Newbury Park once escrow closes next week. The agency also conceptually approved building a golf course on the flat plain just south of Potrero Road, if environmental and feasibility studies give a green light.