THOUSAND OAKS : Council Delays Vote on Development Plan

Fourteen years of wrangling over a parcel in Newbury Park will continue for at least six more weeks after the Thousand Oaks City Council agreed to delay voting on a plan to sharply limit development on 44 acres owned by Nedjatollah Cohan.

The city-proposed zoning change was rescheduled for July 19. The move, if approved, would eliminate plans for a gas station and all other commercial development, drastically reduce the number of houses allowed and ban construction in wetland areas on the property.

Cohan has said the rezoning would be a major setback in his battle to develop the property near the corner of Reino Road and Kimber Drive.

The council also delayed voting on a proposal to prevent Reino Road from being widened from two to four lanes.

Councilwoman Judy Lazar said she believed it would be “more cohesive to consider (the road issue) on the same date as the Cohan changes.”

The proposal to rezone Cohan’s land followed the council’s 1992 rejection of a plan for a shopping center and nearly 200 homes on the parcel.

That rejection prompted Cohan to sue the city. If he prevails in his appeal of the ruling against him, the zone changes the council is considering will have no impact on his ability to develop his land.