Officials Cool to Proposal That City Lease Broome Ranch

A proposal by Supervisor Frank Schillo intended to speed the relocation of a privately owned equestrian center onto Broome Ranch was met with reservations Thursday from local conservation agency and park district officials.

After presenting a possible solution to the nagging question of relocating the Two Winds equestrian center, Schillo left the Thousand Oaks City Council chamber Tuesday night, a hero to horse owners who greeted his suggestion with loud applause.

But two days later it was apparent that Schillo’s suggestion that the Mountains Recreation Conservation Authority, the current owner, lease Broome Ranch to the city for $1 a year will not be as simple to carry out as initially believed.

Schillo pitched the proposal as a way to relocate the equestrian center without having to wait for the property to be annexed by Thousand Oaks. Annexation would enable the city to avoid a costly tax liability.

But officials at the Conejo Open Space Conservation Authority, or COSCA, which will eventually take over the deed for the property from the Mountains Recreation Conservation Authority, said they were unfairly left out of the decision-making loop.

The Thousand Oaks City Council eagerly embraced Schillo’s proposal Tuesday, voting unanimously to move ahead with a lease agreement that would enable Two Winds to relocate.

“The city of Thousand Oaks acted unilaterally on a piece of property they only own one-third of,” said Mike Berger, a member of the Conejo Recreation and Park District board and chairman of the Mountains Recreation Conservation Authority, or MRCA. “Yes, I am concerned about that.”

He noted that the park district was “two-thirds owner of that land.”

The park district contributed $1.9 million toward buying Broome Ranch in 1993, while the city chipped in $1 million. Together, they are supposed to decide the property’s future use together through their joint agency, COSCA.

“There are going to be some fences to mend,” said Tex Ward, a COSCA board member and the general manager of the park district.

“Who is going to take the proposal to the MRCA?” he asked.

“If it is the city, then the (park) district might take exception to that process. We do in fact have an interest in the property.”

Schillo said Thursday he was simply presenting all the agencies with a new option.

“If anybody feels left out, as far as my part is concerned, I can’t believe that,” Schillo said. “I did all my homework. All I’m saying is that it is up to the participants now if they want to do it.”

Besides the complication of bruised feelings among the political players, there are more elements to be considered in moving the 150-horse operation from the north side of Potrero Road--about to be developed with residences--to Broome Ranch, across the road.

In the flush of excitement over Schillo’s idea, some horse lovers may have left the meeting thinking the long-talked-about move to Broome Ranch will take only a few weeks. That timing is unlikely, said Rorie Skei, chairwoman of COSCA.

“If the expectation is that the city could move Two Winds over there in two weeks, well, that’s just not possible,” Skei said. “There are still some environmental constraints. There has to be some kind of environmental document.”

The Mountains Recreation Conservation Authority cannot afford to shoulder the burden for an environmental review--and it should not have to, officials said. The developer of the Dos Vientos residential tract that is displacing Two Winds was supposed to provide an alternative site for an equestrian center, according to its development agreement with the city.

But all parties agree that the site is too small. Instead, the developer has been working to help in the relocation process. Moving Two Winds to Broome Ranch immediately may save the developer some trouble, but it won’t be easy for the public agencies, Skei said.

“This whole thing arose as a developer condition,” Skei said. “I don’t think anyone wants to see public entities, strapped as they are, strapped with another obligation.”

Berger said other equestrian operators who might want to relocate there should not be overlooked.

“You can’t assume Two Winds is the only business in town that wants to operate an equestrian center there,” Berger said. “We should run our government agencies more like a business. We should put it out to bid.”