Sierra Club Sues Thousand Oaks Over Council’s Subdivision Approval : Newbury Park: Housing OK is called an ‘unprecedented blunder’ that threatens environment.

The Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund filed a lawsuit against Thousand Oaks Friday, alleging the city abandoned its commitment to the environment and to the safety of its residents to push forward a major Newbury Park development.

The Sierra Club called the city’s approval of the Dos Vientos housing development an “unprecedented blunder,” and said the project would be harmful because of its proximity to power poles and fault lines, and its added traffic and smog.

Also, the San Francisco-based national nonprofit group contends that the 220-house subdivision endangers 10 federally protected animal species and would irreparably damage the environment because it blocks a vital wildlife corridor.

The council voted 3 to 2 in July to approve the subdivision, which is part of a massive 2,230-house development planned for 4,570 acres north of Potrero Road. Council members argued they could not break a 1990 agreement they had signed with the developer.

City offices were closed Friday and the city attorney was not available for comment.

But Councilwoman Judy Lazar, one of those who supported the development, said the council was locked into the decision to build Dos Vientos when the development agreement was signed.

“That would have been the time for a lawsuit,” she said. “I don’t think at this point they have grounds for a suit. We did the best that we could.”

Sierra Club attorney Stephan Volker said his group took on the case because it is “a chance for the courts to clarify whether a city can limit an environmental review simply because they mistakenly entered into a restrictive development agreement.”

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But the Conejo Valley residents who have raised more than $10,000 to help fund the lawsuit said they are supporting the case because they felt betrayed by the City Council’s approval of the project.

“Debate over this development has galvanized the community,” said Michelle Koetke, who formed Residents to Preserve Newbury Park three years ago to oppose Dos Vientos.

“We couldn’t believe that a city that was noted for its planning would do something this destructive,” she said, adding that the council decision promises to be a major issue in the upcoming City Council campaign.

Councilwoman Elois Zeanah, who joined Councilwoman Jaime Zukowski in voting against the agreement, refused to speculate on the impact the lawsuit would have on the campaign, but said it was clear to her that the residents are angry.

“This may be a record issue for use, in terms of the number of people attending hearings on Dos Vientos,” Zeanah said. “Every one of those residents expressed strongly their disgust with the development.”

Debate over approval of the project drove a wedge between council members, with Zeanah and Zukowski arguing that the city had abandoned its commitment to protect the safety of its residents.

“I think the reports had proven with all clarity that this project is harmful for the residents and for the environment,” Zeanah said Friday. “I think this lawsuit is going to make it clear that a development agreement is not all-powerful.”

Mayor Alex Fiore has argued that Thousand Oaks simply could not back out of the agreement.

“It seems to me when you have a contract with someone you’re obligated to stay within the confines of that contract,” Fiore said earlier this year.

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Signed in 1990, the deal offered two developers, Operating Engineers and Courtly Homes, the right to build 2,350 residences in exchange for $12.6 million, 1,000 acres of open space, and set-aside money for parks, schools and other amenities.

The 220-house subdivision was the first portion of the project to win council approval.

The project is still months away from groundbreaking because the developers need permit approvals.

Sierra Club attorney Volker said he hoped the legal action would be far enough along by then to prevent the start of construction.

“We’re going to move as quickly as possible on this to ensure no earth is moved,” Volker said.

The crux of the lawsuit is the contention that the development agreement had a clause that allowed the city to back out of the deal if the development violated any laws.

The Sierra Club alleges that the project violates the California Environmental Quality Act because of numerous impacts--many acknowledged by the city--to the wildlife in the mountains near Newbury Park.

“Dos Vientos lies at the heart of one of only two habitat corridors connecting the natural habitats of the Santa Monica Mountains to wildlife areas to the north,” the suit alleges.

But Lazar said Friday the major impacts of the development had been mitigated by the council. “The densities are lower and the mitigation efforts by the developer were tremendous.”

But the location of the development was something Volker said the Sierra Club could not ignore.

“That area is a national resource,” Volker said. “It is a unique habitat for endangered species, it provides a link between wild areas, and the value of that land was in itself sufficient to warrant our suit.”

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Lazar said she believed the lawsuit would be proven frivolous and would force the city to waste taxpayer money to defend the council decision.

But reaction to the suit from the community was supportive, Koetke said.

“I think it marks a sea change in Thousand Oaks,” Koetke said. “It will allow the residents to take back Thousand Oaks. We are supporting that effort both with our spirit and with our dollars.”

Late Friday, Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills) issued a statement praising the action.

“I hope that this lawsuit will ultimately result in preserving the scenic and ecological value of the National Park Service property,” Beilenson’s statement said. “We cannot allow this development to spoil this valuable parkland that we have worked so hard to acquire.”

Volker said the issue has gained widespread support in the city.

“This issue has struck a nerve,” he said. “(Residents’) efforts have far surpassed those of any community I can recall.”

Volker said the next step in the case will be a hearing within two months to determine which public documents will be included in the court record.