Hope Arises for Stables in Path of Bulldozers : Newbury Park: A new site has been found nearby, but quick action is needed by the city.

Thousand Oaks politicians can’t save the Two Winds stables site from a developer’s bulldozers.

But they will try to prevent Newbury Park equestrians from riding off into the sunset.

Earning cheers from two dozen horse lovers, Thousand Oaks council members have agreed to move the Two Winds stables and corral across Potrero Road to the Broome Ranch wilderness tract.

With bulldozers revving in the distance, ready to tear down Two Winds to make room for housing, the city has to act fast.

And the equestrians are spurring them on.

“If they take this away from the kids, there are going to be a lot of hearts broken out there,” said Frank de la Torre, who boards two horses at Two Winds.

“It’s been our home away from home. It’s been the greatest thing that’s ever happened to us.”

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With its easy access to backcountry trails and its picturesque location under the Santa Monica Mountains ridgeline, Two Winds has attracted equestrians from as far away as Orange County, manager Bob Spencer said.

Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts regularly trek over to earn “horse care” merit badges by tending to the 142 animals stabled at Two Winds. Busloads of inner-city students come by to gawk at the galloping steeds. And Los Angeles police officers have visited the stables for weekend getaways from smog and crime.

“The equestrian facility is part of a much bigger picture, part of our need to maintain open space and a rural atmosphere for everyone,” said Jody Martin, who boards a horse at Two Winds.

Recognizing the ranch’s allure, Thousand Oaks council members Tuesday directed staff members to work as quickly as possible to secure a new site on Broome Ranch. Before a single horse trots across the street, however, city planners will have to jump some hurdles.

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Although the city has purchased half of Broome Ranch’s 640 acres, the entire parcel remains within the county’s sphere of influence. And the county has zoned the land “agricultural exclusive,” a designation that would preclude equestrian facilities.

To get around that hitch, the city would have to apply for a special-use permit or petition the county to rezone Broome Ranch, assistant planner Mark Towne said. Eventually, Thousand Oaks might seek to annex the property.

In the meantime, officials will have to commission an environmental impact report to evaluate how Broome Ranch might fare with the sudden influx of 142 horses, hay carts, a chuck wagon and a portable country-Western dance floor.

That prospect daunted Mayor Alex Fiore.

“Do we have to go through something as idiotic as an (environmental analysis) just to put animals on open space?” Fiore asked incredulously.

“We do,” Towne replied.

What’s more, he said, Broome Ranch might harbor sensitive biological or archeological resources that could be damaged by an equestrian facility. “There are several issues that need to be resolved,” he said.

For local equestrians, the resolution can’t come fast enough. Ever since they learned of plans to build housing on Two Winds, equestrians have been in limbo, unable to plan traditional summer events such as “Line Dancing Under the Stars”--and, more importantly, unable to find new stables.

Moorpark College recently closed its equestrian center, and the Seventh-day Adventist Church plans to shut down its stables soon. Aside from private back yards, the only other stables are at Cal Lutheran University, which boards only about a dozen horses.

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“As equestrians, we’ve been a political football,” said Jeff Alexander, the owner of a feed store on Thousand Oaks Boulevard. “We’d like to get out of that position, because footballs have a way of being bounced around.”

While city officials work to temporarily relocate Two Winds, the developer who will be displacing the stables is seeking a permanent solution.

As part of its development agreement with the city, Operating Engineers, the developer of the Two Winds portion of the project, must provide a new site for the soon-to-be-demolished equestrian center. The developer has already identified a 7.3-acre site, but city officials and equestrians say the stables need more room.

“I won’t say ‘final resting place,’ but we need to find a final location for the equestrian center,” Councilwoman Judy Lazar said.

Two Winds manager Spencer wholeheartedly agreed.

“Just to have a piece of ground we can call home,” he said. “As far as the equestrian community is concerned, that would be real good.”