THOUSAND OAKS : Conservation Agency OKs Nonprofit Bid

Trying to bolster its ability to raise money, the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency has voted to move toward creating a nonprofit foundation.

“We all agreed that having a nonprofit foundation will help in fund raising,” board member Rorie Skei said. “People seem more willing to make donations to nonprofits, and we’ll have much greater flexibility in grant applications.”

The board on Wednesday night voted 5 to 0, authorizing staff to draft the necessary documents to form a nonprofit foundation.

As planned, the foundation would pay for the upkeep on the 14,000 acres of land owned by COSCA, a joint powers agency between the city of Thousand Oaks and the Conejo Valley Recreation and Park District. In addition, funds would be used for educational purposes and future land purchases.

“We want to make sure that the fabulous treasure the people have in the Conejo Valley lasts into the next century and beyond into perpetuity,” Skei said.

In other business, the COSCA board endorsed the Thousand Oaks City Council’s planned Environmental Impact Report on relocating the Two Winds Ranch equestrian center to Broome Ranch.

Members also approved landscaping of a 1,700-square-foot piece of property across from Avenida Amelgado, in the McCrea Wildlife Preserve.