Cleanup Ordered for Land Near Arts Plaza

A hearing officer on Thursday declared a half-acre parcel next to Thousand Oaks’ $64-million Civic Arts Plaza a public nuisance and ordered the owner to clean up the junk-strewn property within 60 days.

William A. Cady, an administrative hearing officer who was hired by the city to oversee the case, ordered Robert Heggen to clean up his property at the corner of Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Oakwood Drive by Feb. 1. If Heggen fails to comply with the order, the city will do the work and bill him, city officials said.

Heggen, who could not be reached for comment Thursday, has said vehicles and equipment stored on his property are part of the grading business he operates there and are not junk. In the 30 years his family has owned the property, Heggen has said, they never once received a complaint from neighbors.

In addition to a two-story clapboard house, Heggen’s property is home to a storage barn, various farming equipment, two utility trailers and several run-down vehicles, including one in which a homeless man lives.

For months, Heggen and the city have been locked in a bitter dispute over the sale of his land, which the city wants to acquire for the entrance to the Civic Arts Plaza scheduled to open next October.

City officials said acquiring the land would not only make the entrance more attractive but would also ease the traffic flow to and from the center because it would allow Oakwood Drive to be widened.

The city has offered $420,000 for the property, while Heggen is demanding $1 million.

Officials said Heggen is being unreasonable and that the city is moving ahead with plans to build walls around his property. They said construction of the walls could begin as early as next month.