Panel to Review Amgen Expansion Plans : Thousand Oaks: Company officials are hopeful that city will OK doubling of office space at their headquarters. Approval would cut through red tape and speed completion of the five-year project.

Plans for a major five-year expansion of Amgen Inc.’s Thousand Oaks headquarters, including the construction of several buildings that would exceed city height limits, will be reviewed today by the city’s Planning Commission.

Amgen officials said they are optimistic that the plan, which would more than double the company’s office space to more than 2 million square feet and make room for 2,000 additional employees, would be well received by the commission.

“We’re very confident that we’ve done everything necessary to move ahead with this plan,” said Ed Bjurstrom, director of engineering and construction for Amgen. “We’re not just an average development; we’re building a home here.”

The five-year expansion proposal is laid out in a specific plan, which is a joint effort by city planners and company officials to guide future development on Amgen’s property.

City officials said the specific plan, in part, will clear the way for Amgen to continue its growth without the delays of government red tape.

The company, which was founded in Thousand Oaks in 1980 and is now the largest independent biotechnology firm in the world, occupies a 100-acre site along Hillcrest Drive at the west end of the city.

Amgen’s five-year plan outlines dozens of major projects it intends to initiate, including the construction of buildings, widening of roads, and creation of parking facilities, bicycle paths, walkways and landscaped open space.

If the commission and City Council approve the proposal, Amgen will not have to return to the Planning Commission for further approval of any of the construction plans it has laid out in the document, officials said.

Once the specific plan is passed, it will supersede city zoning ordinances.

That is of particular interest to the company because several of the proposed buildings would exceed the city’s maximum height requirement.

“I expect there will be some very special concessions made to Amgen in terms of approvals for these future buildings,” Planning Commissioner Forrest Frields said. “They’re going to be allowed to go higher to accommodate their special needs.”

Frields said the commission has been directed by the council to consider waiving some of the city’s more traditional building requirements in Amgen’s case.

During the past eight months, the council has held two special study sessions with Amgen officials to discuss the company’s plans and help outline the specific plan to fit the city’s needs.

Several City Council members have said they are intent upon working with Amgen because the company generates jobs and tax dollars for the city.

Amgen recently released a study showing that the company, with the five-year expansion plan, could double the amount of money it generates for the city.

The company, which employs about 2,200 people, generates about $268,000 in property, hotel, sales and business license taxes in Thousand Oaks.

Ultimately, Amgen officials project that the company will employ 8,000 people and bring more than $1 million a year into the city’s coffers.

Commission Chairman Irving Wasserman said the project’s sheer scope and size should justify approval of the specific plan.

“When you’re dealing with a project of this magnitude--we’re talking about 2 million square feet of office space--it’s deserving of and really requires special circumstances,” he said.

“If Amgen shows a willingness to do what we believe is necessary to fit into the plans of the city, this should work out well for them and for the city.”

The commission will hold a public hearing on the proposed expansion and other Amgen projects at 7:30 p.m. at Thousand Oaks City Hall, 2400 Willow Lane.