THOUSAND OAKS : Adventists’ Plans for Mall to Be Studied

The Thousand Oaks City Council will hold a study session March 8 on a Seventh-day Adventist Church development proposal, giving residents a sneak peak at plans for a commercial center on one of the city’s largest undeveloped parcels.

The church has already filed papers requesting a zoning change for part of its vast land holding in the hills of Newbury Park.

Stifled by the current zoning--which would allow only institutional buildings such as a church or school on the site--the project managers are seeking permission to build a sprawling shopping mall on part of the 458-acre parcel.

As proposed, the retail center would cover 85 acres--making it nearly as big as The Oaks mall--and would include a Target store and other department stores. A movie theater and food court also might be built on the property, which abuts Rancho Conejo Industrial Park.

The mall would replace an equestrian center, senior citizen housing and a private school located on a portion of the church property. Those facilities would be relocated to a now-undeveloped slice of church property.

Public hearings on the project will begin in late spring or early summer, planners said.

Mayor Elois Zeanah and Councilwoman Jaime Zukowski voted against holding the study session in March. Instead, they suggested that an informal informational meeting would work best in April, when reports on the project’s economic and environmental impacts would be ready for public analysis.

But a majority voted to hold the study session March 8 so that residents can “see information about the project sooner rather than later,” Councilwoman Judy Lazar said.