Neighborhood Finds That It’s Taking Control : Thousand Oaks: Las Casitas shows signs of progress in anti-crime and other efforts, which will be detailed in a council report today.

Jeffrey Bock knows that his neighborhood’s improving because of everything he doesn’t see.

He doesn’t see police constantly responding to emergency calls. He doesn’t see cars lining both sides of every street. He doesn’t see two-bedroom apartments housing a dozen-plus people.

And he doesn’t see the pervasive apathy that once kept life a dismal status quo in Las Casitas, a neighborhood of 540 condominiums in western Thousand Oaks.

“We’re really taking control of the neighborhood, one step at a time,” Bock said.

Equally proud of the neighborhood’s progress, Mayor Elois Zeanah on Tuesday will present the City Council with a report detailing half a dozen programs that have turned Las Casitas into a local success story.

“The whole feel of the neighborhood is different now,” she said. “I’m really impressed.”

Among the most impressive statistics: the quarterly crime analysis, which shows a reduction in calls for police help.

With its high-density design and lower-income residents, the complex has long staggered under an unsavory reputation, pegged as a dangerous and unkempt neighborhood even by its residents.

Police and residents agree that Las Casitas still has some problems. A few condos remain crowded. A few parties spiral out of control. And a few vending trucks with blaring horns still cruise the streets, waking babies from naps and disturbing the twilight tranquility.

But there appears to be less crime in Las Casitas. The Sheriff’s Department has not compared the latest calls-for-service report with that of the prior winter, but Sgt. Harold Humphries said he thinks that the crime rate has continued to fall. Sgt. Bruce Hansen, who patrols the neighborhood regularly, estimates that crime in Las Casitas has dropped by nearly 30% over the last year.

Jane Hemeon, who moved to the neighborhood 17 years ago, agreed. “The whole place has changed,” she said. “The people in it have mellowed out. I’m sure we all have more pride in our neighborhood now.”

While Las Casitas still generates more than 80 calls to police each month, many of the calls involve loud parties or ear-splitting music, not violent crime or bloody fights.

“The area is definitely on its way to becoming more in synch with the rest of Thousand Oaks,” Humphries said.

On Tuesday, the council will have a chance to make Las Casitas even safer.

The council will vote on an agreement with the Ventura County Flood Control District to install wrought-iron fencing along the perimeter of a concrete channel in the neighborhood, to keep out transients and teen-agers.

If it blocks people from clambering into the concrete culvert, the fence should cut down on noise and graffiti in Las Casitas, while keeping children out of a dangerous play site, police said.

“That fence is extremely important because it keeps foot traffic in the area down,” Bock agreed. “At one point, we had people living there, setting fire to the eucalyptus trees, throwing parties. . . . You name it, it was down there.”

The council has already pledged $97,200 toward the cost of the fence, a sum to be matched by Las Casitas’ homeowners association. The action Tuesday will simply ratify an agreement with the flood control district, which has agreed to kick in $8,000.

Also Tuesday, council members will hear appraisals of two recently implemented programs to improve Las Casitas’ ambience.

An ordinance limiting overnight parking has thinned out the gridlock look of Las Casitas’ seven streets, which until recently were lined bumper-to-bumper with cars.

In the last month alone, sheriff’s deputies have nabbed 120 violators, according to the mayor’s report.

Eliminating the clutter of cars that once choked Las Casitas’ streets will prove especially important when city officials launch a long-planned effort to turn renters into owners.

Absentee landlords own about 60% of Las Casitas’ condominiums, and many of them have indicated interest in selling--especially since the sagging real estate market has sent property values plummeting. Townhomes once worth upward of $120,000 are now listed for less than $80,000.

To encourage tenants to buy condominiums--and, presumably, care for them better than the absentee landlords--the city has offered a low-interest down payment assistance program, with no money due for six years. Officials have also lobbied hard to get long-term federal loans for the low-income renters.

Finally, the city’s Redevelopment Agency has purchased one condominium in Las Casitas, and officials are working to spruce it up with new appliances, clean carpets and a fresh coat of paint. They’re also looking for a buyer.

“I’ve seen a 100% turn-around in that neighborhood,” said Sheila Frye, a consultant designing the city’s Ownership Assistance Program. “My feeling is, let’s go for it.”