Panel Urges Funding to Develop Land for City Parks : Thousand Oaks: Officials discuss possible sources of money, including earmarking tax dollars for projects and turning to developers.

Thousand Oaks may turn to developers, or even homeowners, to help pay for the long overdue conversion of hundreds of acres of vacant city parkland into baseball diamonds and playgrounds, city officials said Thursday.

Development on the parkland, most of which consists of open fields currently being used for soccer, has been stymied by the Conejo Recreation and Park District’s lack of money for maintenance.

“Basically, we can pay to plant the grass, but we can’t afford to mow or water it,” said district planner Jim Gilmore. “Right now we’re using all of the land that we can afford to maintain.”

At a meeting of the General Plan Review Committee on Thursday, top city officials said the City Council should step in and find ways to pay for park improvements.

“There’s a lot of field space out there, and it’s just not being utilized,” said Councilwoman Judy Lazar, one of four committee members. “I think it’s clear from residents of this city that this should be a priority.”

Members of the committee discussed several possible solutions to the problem, including earmarking existing tax dollars for parks and turning to developers for money.

Developers are typically asked to contribute the land for parks when a project is proposed, but not for the funds to maintain them. Now, said council and committee member Elois Zeanah, the city should start asking for both.

I n response to that proposal, local business leaders said they felt developers were contributing enough.

“I think it’s clear that developers are paying much more than their own way,” said Thousand Oaks architect Neal Scribner. “I don’t think the law will allow much more.”

If residents want parks and recreation facilities, “they are going to have to figure out how to pay for (the amenities) themselves,” Scribner said.

But City Planner John Prescott said the city has made similar agreements with developers in the past, just on a smaller scale.

In agreements with developers of the Shapell and Lang Ranch projects, Prescott said the builders agreed not only to donate the land but to develop the facility as well.

But because there is so little land remaining for development in the city, Prescott added that the committee ought to search for other sources of funding as well.

One possibility, Lazar said, was to tap into the city’s bedroom tax, which was used in part to purchase Conejo Creek Park North.

The committee suggested that the current $100 to $200 tax, which is levied on residents based on the number of bedrooms in their home, be spent on specific recreation projects.

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“I think we could recommend that the council earmark this money to specific projects, so we could start to see improvements,” Zeanah said.

If that money is divided properly between park improvements and a reserve fund for park maintenance, Gilmore said the plan could be successful.

“I’d like to see them consider that,” Gilmore said. “I think any way that (the recreation and park district) and the city can work together will be beneficial to the public.”

The General Plan Review Committee, which convenes monthly to discuss revision of the city’s blueprint for the future, is made up of Zeanah, Lazar and Planning Commissioners Irving Wasserman and Marilyn Carpenter.

Committee members agreed Thursday to compile their ideas about improving the parks and present them to the council later this year.

Undeveloped Parks in Thousand Oaks Park: Conejo Creek Park-South Size: 32 acres Location: Janss Road near Moorpark Freeway *

Park: Northwood Play Field Size: 10 acres Location: Sunset Hills Boulevard near Moorpark Freeway *

Park: Thousand Oaks Size: 14 acres Location: Moorpark Road near Avenida de los Community Park Arboles *

Park: Kimber Play Field Size: 9 acres Location: Kimber Drive, Newbury Park Source: City of Thousand Oaks