Thousand Oaks Planners OK Hillside Townhouse Project : Development: Some commissioners question if the five-acre site is big enough for the 45 units.

After 5 1/2 hours of fierce debate, Thousand Oaks planners approved a hillside housing project early Tuesday morning despite concerns that the 45-townhouse development was too large for its five-acre lot.

If zoning for the project is approved by the City Council, builders will begin constructing the two-, three- and four-unit townhomes on the rolling green acreage by the end of summer.

For much of Monday night’s session, however, the outlook for the project looked bleak. The Planning Commission appeared to be stacked against the proposal as the public hearing closed, and it was not until the 3-2 vote was read that the developers knew they had prevailed.

The developers left the roller-coaster session jubilant with their success, but disconcerted with the process that had them pleading for their project at midnight.

During their presentations, representatives from Los Angeles-based developer Patriot Homes, Inc. chided the commission for “picking apart” a project that had lived up to all city guidelines.

“Here we are with nobody opposing us, with the city staff supporting us, and still you are saying it’s not good enough,” said Francisco Behr, the project’s architect. “I’m concerned, for the sake of the city, that no one will ever be able to satisfy you.”

Most of the commissioners agreed that the project fit the city’s standards, but remained concerned that it was too dense for the five-acre parcel on East Hillcrest Drive near Skyline Drive.

“You’ve done a lot of good things,” said Commissioner Marilyn Carpenter, who voted with Commissioner Linda Parks against the project. “I just think you’ve tried to do a little too much with the space on the site. It has been pushed to the extreme.”

Commissioner Forrest Frields also expressed concern that the development had too many buildings and too much pavement.

“I just look at this, and I see that it’s geared toward families, and I wonder, where are the children going to play?” Frields said. “There just is a total lack of open space.”

But at 12:15 a.m., it was Frields who broke the deadlock, casting the final vote in favor of the project.

Afterward, he said he still questioned his decision.

“I was torn and I’m still torn,” Frields said as he left City Hall. “I’m afraid I’ll be tossing and turning over this one.”

Commissioners said they were particularly concerned about the project because the area along East Hillcrest Drive is in transition.

The lot where the development would be built is overgrown, rolling land, paved over in parts, and occupied by two small structures--a house and a two-story church.

While an office complex has been built nearby, and another residential development is a few lots away, most of Hillcrest Drive is lined with single-family houses that have been built before the widening of the street from two lanes to four.

A series of lots on the north side of Hillcrest Drive is expected to be developed with medium-density projects such as condominiums and townhouses, city staff members said.

“This development really will set the tone for the area,” Carpenter said. “And I think this project is just a little too much for what we want.”

Commissioner Parks said she feared a crowded development would forever change the feel of the neighborhood.

“If we allow high-density development on (the north) side of the street, we can’t expect that the other side of the street won’t follow,” Parks said.

But the developers, along with Commissioners Irving Wasserman and Mervyn Kopp, urged Frields to see the benefits of such a project.

“I think this project is a showpiece,” said David Schwartzman, the president of Patriot Homes. “If this project is turned down, I don’t see how the property will ever be developed, and you will be left with a blighted space of land.”

In addition to avoiding construction on the rear slope of the land and donating 1.3 acres of the property to the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency, Patriot Homes agreed to pay for the restoration of land that had been damaged by earlier grading.

The purpose of the development, Schwartzman said, is not to provide mansions for people but to provide homes for first-time buyers and young professionals. He said the townhomes would be priced in the $200,000 range.

Commissioner Wasserman said that type of development is missing in Thousand Oaks.

“I think despite the concerns raised by Commissioner Frields, this is an important project,” Wasserman said. “It’s a project which is exactly at the level needed in the community today.”