WESTLAKE VILLAGE : Project’s Opponents Plan Court Appeal

Leaders of a group working to block construction of a Price Costco store in Westlake Village said Thursday that despite the City Council’s recent approval of the project, they have not given up their fight.

Buoyed by $1,890 in contributions from supporters, Conejo Citizens Against Price Costco will mount a legal challenge to the city’s decision, Frank Abundis, a spokesman for the group, said.

The group will file an appeal in court within the 30 days required by law, Abundis said. “It is not over at all by any means.”

City officials say Westlake Village is legally bound to approve the project because of a development agreement that requires the city to pay up to $3 million in damages if it fails to abide by the agreement.

Price Costco plans to build a 136,000-square-foot store as part of a 296,000-square-foot shopping center at Lindero Canyon Road and Thousand Oaks Boulevard.

It is part of the Westlake North Specific Plan, approved in 1989, which allows for 1.4 million square feet for offices, a business park, commercial uses and condominiums on a 130-acre tract just north of the Ventura Freeway.

Supporters say the store will generate $1 million annually in sales tax revenues, provide about 200 jobs paying about $30,000 a year, and make it unnecessary for residents to commute to its other stores in the San Fernando Valley and Oxnard.

Opponents say they fear the establishment will increase traffic, noise and crime.

They are calling for a new environmental review, which Abundis said would show that any revenues generated by the store would not offset its negative impact on the community.

The group held a meeting Tuesday at a Westlake Village restaurant that drew about 50 people, Abundis said.

There are 1,300 names on a mailing list of opponents, he said.

The group initially had planned to immediately launch a recall against four of the five council members who voted in favor of the project.

Abundis said the group decided to change its strategy and deal with the legal challenge first.