Planners to Consider New Shapell Project Proposal : Newbury Park: Revised plan would build apartment complex in industrial area, not in gated community.

A 247-unit apartment complex that was originally proposed for a gated development in Newbury Park may be built in an industrial part of the city if the Planning Commission approves the new building plan Monday.

The Shapell Industries development is planned for a 14-acre parcel near the corner of Lawrence Drive and Rancho Conejo Boulevard in Newbury Park north of the Ventura Freeway.

The proposal for the apartment complex was changed drastically last September when the City Council voted to move it from within the Rancho Conejo Village gated community.

Residents in the development said they objected to the prospect of paying homeowners’ fees to support facilities that would be shared with renters.

At the same time, the proposal to build the apartments in an industrial area came under fire from officials at Northrop Corp., which owns the land next to the proposed apartment site.

Northrop officials said that moving apartments into the area could cost the city thousands of new jobs because no company would want to build next to an apartment complex.

But the City Council approved the move on a 3-2 vote, with Mayor Elois Zeanah and Councilwoman Jaime Zukowski dissenting, both arguing that relocating the complex would be discriminatory against residents with lower incomes.

“Once again we’re putting the lower-income residents in the least desirable locations,” Zeanah said at the Sept. 30 meeting. “That’s wrong.”

As part of the agreement to move the complex from within the gated community to an industrial area, the council members told Shapell they would need to include 40 to 60 moderate- to low-income units among the 246 apartments, said city planner Robert Rickards.

The proposal Shapell will forward Monday includes 40 moderate-income units within the 22-building complex.

Rickards said the city staff recommends approving the project because of the benefits of locating such a complex in an industrial area.

“We see this as a new, but highly acceptable location for this kind of project,” Rickards said.

For one thing, he said, traffic conditions would be improved by the project because people traveling to and from work would be driving in the reverse direction from most people in the industrial area.

And, he said, people who work for the neighboring companies can live closer to work, also reducing traffic in the city.

When it is complete, the complex will include several amenities, including a recreational complex with a weight room and swimming pool, two children’s play areas and an underground parking garage.

The plan also includes access to all ground level apartments for the disabled, Rickards said.

But, he said, plans for the complex also include grading a portion of protected open space and grading around three oak trees.

Shapell representative Frank Faye declined to comment on the project.

FYI

The Thousand Oaks Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the project 7:30 p.m. Monday, at City Hall, 2400 Willow Lane.