City Studies Santa Rosa Valley Equestrian Plan : Thousand Oaks: Although the proposed golf course, park and horse center have been discussed since 1993, many details, including cost, remain undecided.

A proposal to transform a rugged stretch of Santa Rosa Valley backcountry into a golf course, park and equestrian center will come before the Thousand Oaks City Council for discussion today.

The land-use plan for the proposed park in Hill Canyon has been in the works since 1993, but many details--including the project’s cost--remain undecided, city officials said.

According to a status report by Thousand Oaks Public Works Director Donald H. Nelson, to be presented at today’s council meeting, city and Ventura County officials must agree on the location and size of the equestrian facility and park before the land-use plan can be finalized.

The officials must also decide who will develop and run both the horse facility and the park.

City Manager Grant Brimhall said plans for the recreation complex are still in a “state of flux.” He said he is confident, however, that the complex will someday become a reality, though the timetable is uncertain.

“It’s such a win-win situation for folks in Santa Rosa, Thousand Oaks, the county,” he said. “There’s no downside.”

The county faces a deadline for deciding what to do with its 50-acre portion of the 300-acre tract, situated near Santa Rosa and Hill Canyon roads. Dan Peyton, chairman of the Santa Rosa Valley Community Assn., said county officials must submit plans to the state’s Department of Parks by the end of September.

The Santa Rosa association, a group representing about 750 homeowners throughout the Santa Rosa Valley, is working with the county to develop the equestrian facility, which Peyton said reflects residents’ obsession with horses.

“Ventura County has an old tradition of rural roots,” he said. “Everyone’s real down-to-earth when we get together and talk horses. It’s a common love.”

The equestrian center would not be a Churchill Downs-style racetrack. Instead, it would feature an arena where local horse clubs could stage shows focusing on different types of horses and riding techniques.

The facility would include small bleachers, seating perhaps several hundred people, Peyton said, plus pens for the horses, a ticket booth, concession stand and a parking lot designed for vehicles pulling horse trailers.

User fees for the Hill Canyon facility have not yet been determined. But revenue from the facility, which would be open to anyone, could help pay for developing the rest of the park, Peyton said.

Facilities for local horses, numbering 1,500 by Peyton’s estimate, are scarce. A new facility, he said, would appeal to people throughout the county.

“The parkland was really designated as a regional park,” Peyton said. “The type of facility we put there should meet a regional need. And the county has determined that an equestrian facility would meet a regional need.”

Today’s meeting begins at 5 p.m. in the City Council chambers at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza.