Double-Duty Parking Lot Next to Freeway Comes Under Fire : Thousand Oaks: City officials wonder whether park-and-ride facility has really become a storage site for swap-meet vehicles.

From its asphalt lot, the Thousand Oaks Auto Swap Meet looks like a busy used-car dealership with a bizarre range of inventory. A polished Jaguar sits sandwiched between a battered Jeep and a glowing yellow Volkswagen Bug--all for sale by their owners.

From the Ventura Freeway, however, the swap meet looks more like a storage yard for aging motor homes. All week long, recreational vehicles fill the first row of parking spots, just yards from the road.

That scene has led city planners to examine whether the swap meet--billed as a spot for selling used cars--has turned into a storage lot.

Michael Hines, a code compliance officer with the city, said planners will present a memorandum to the Planning Commission answering that question and examining whether the commission has jurisdiction over the lot, which the swap meet leases from the state Department of Transportation.

The swap meet owners say that while the motor homes take time to sell, they are not kept in the lot for storage. The owners said they’re willing to work with the city to improve the appearance of the swap meet, which they say provides a public service by giving private car sellers a centralized location to hawk their goods.

“To sell a motor home or sell a boat, people have got to see it,” co-owner Rick Ongstad said. “The only reason we’re busy is because there are so many people who need this kind of thing.”

Since 1992, the swap meet has operated in the park-and-ride lot just north of the freeway at Borchard Road. It opens for business each Friday at 5 p.m. and stays open around the clock until 6 p.m. Sunday.

On a typical weekend, 125 vehicles pack the lot and attract more than 1,000 potential buyers, said Frank Barone, swap meet co-owner.

Owners bring in the vehicles they want to sell, fill out vehicle profiles that list the selling price and then, in most cases, leave. Swap meet employees will refer interested shoppers to the owners. If a vehicle doesn’t sell, the owner must clear it from the lot by the close of business Sunday or risk having it towed.

During the week, commuters’ cars replace those for sale. Only the motor homes and other swap meet vehicles parked in 50 spaces in the front row stay throughout the week.

Caltrans spokesman Russell Snyder said the arrangement between the swap meet and the California Department of Transportation has worked out well. In return for use of the space, the swap meet pays $1,500 each month in rent and provides weekday security for the lot, he said.

“We figure the taxpayers have already paid for the land,” Snyder said. “There are opportunities to get revenue that will benefit the taxpayer in other respects.”

In 1993, the swap meet even won a Caltrans award for innovative use of a transportation facility, Snyder said.

But Planning Commissioner Joseph Gibson voiced concerns at a recent meeting that the used cars seemed to be overtaking the commuter spots and that the site had begun to look like a storage lot. He asked the commission’s staff to research the matter.

Ongstad and Barone say they have already taken steps to improve the lot’s appearance. They have stopped accepting commercial vehicles--in the past, they had sold a bulldozer and a crane.

They are also considering a limit on the amount of time motor-home owners can keep their vehicles on the lot.

For people trying to rid themselves of old vehicles or looking for a used car, the swap meet provides more immediate benefits.

On a recent Saturday, Dick Tracy of Simi Valley came to the lot to sell a 1987 Nissan Sentra that had belonged to his recently deceased father-in-law.

“I’ve had two people drive it today,” he said, eyeing a lot filled with potential customers. “Each are looking for cars for their daughters.”

Anthony Diliberti had been looking for a Mercedes convertible but didn’t want to pay $60,000 to buy one new. As he drove on the freeway past the swap meet, he spotted a dark red 1985 model and stopped to check it out.

The lot’s crammed, cluttered appearance from the road didn’t bother him. “To me, it’s no different than the dealerships with their cars parked near the freeway,” he said.