THOUSAND OAKS : Despite Complaints, School Project OKd

Despite pleas from a handful of Newbury Park residents, the Conejo Valley school board decided Friday to continue with its plans to build a 35,000-square-foot multipurpose room and cafeteria on the campus of Cypress Elementary School.

The Thousand Oaks City Council asked the school board to hold an emergency meeting after two homeowners complained that the proposed two-story structure would block their views.

The neighbors were also angry that the Conejo Valley Unified School District had not told them about the proposed project.

“I think it’s a real slap in the face to the neighbors,” Dee Minazzolitold the school board during its Friday morning meeting. Minazzoli’s home is next to the area where the building is to be constructed.

“We should have been notified,” she said in an emotional speech. “There are things called ethics, integrity and courtesy.”

Board members said it was unfortunate that the neighbors were not made aware of the plans but added that the project had been publicized for several years.

The neighbors asked the board to relocate the proposed multipurpose room, but the school trustees said that would be too costly.

“We will be going ahead with it,” trustee Dorothy Beaubien said Friday afternoon. “I know they’re unhappy, but we’ll do everything we can to make it as pleasant as possible.”