Old City Hall Is Wearing Thin With Neighbors : Real estate: Thousand Oaks planners will outline some options for the municipal facility, which has been ravaged by vandals since being abandoned in 1988.

Ashamed, appalled, aghast.

That’s how people who have had a look at the old Thousand Oaks City Hall, overrun by vandals and rapidly rotting away on Hillcrest Drive, usually describe their reaction.

Most residents agree that it is time that the city did something with the civic center it built in 1973 and abandoned in 1988.

“It is about time this property moves up on the priority list,” said Marshall Dixon, who lives in the Oaknoll Villa condominium complex across from the property.

But there is less agreement about what to do with the abandoned building--wedged neatly into the side of Fireworks Hill above The Oaks mall--and the 62 acres of land that surround it.

Some say the building, gutted during asbestos removal, should be auctioned off to the highest bidder and the proceeds used to pay off the enormous debt the city owes for the Civic Arts Plaza.

Others see it as an inspirational site, rich with city history, and argue that it should become a county landmark. One fledgling group hopes to turn it into a science museum for children.

Meanwhile, neighbors cast worried looks up the hill, afraid that the homeless people who sleep in the deserted building will get bored with their empty playhouse and come down the hill to help themselves to residents’ stereos, VCRs and other valuables.

In a special study session Tuesday night with City Council members and residents, city planners will outline some of the options open to the city when they present a draft Specific Plan for the site.

The plan isn’t actually very specific. Instead, it deals in general terms with what could be done with the property, setting some limits on size and scope, but ruling out little in terms of usage. It closely follows recommendations made by a committee of residents in January, 1994.

The plan would allow the property to be used for corporate headquarters, medical offices, schools or universities, restaurants other than fast-food establishments, art studios or galleries, dance studios, museums, hotels and even residences.

In juggling the city’s finances to pay for the $64-million Civic Arts Plaza, officials assumed they would be able to sell the old city hall for roughly $13 million. Given its current state of disrepair, it is considered unlikely that the city could get that much for the property.

To make the place salable, planners say the existing building and surrounding 62 acres must be rezoned. The property is now zoned as public land, which means unless it becomes a park or is used by a city agency, its resale value is negligible.

The Specific Plan sets ground rules for protecting environmental features of the hillside. City officials have walked the property and counted 310 oak trees. Of these, the plan says 30 can be removed or transplanted, but the rest must be preserved.

The steep slopes and prominent ridgeline of Fireworks Hill must be left alone. Of the 27 acres purchased by the city for open space in 1994, 26 must remain that way, according to the report. The option to put a park on top of the hill remains open.

Only areas of 25% slope or less can be graded, or built on, and building height would be limited to 35 feet. The two long, flat administrative buildings that exist now rise 799 feet above sea level. Any additions could not raise the overall height over 815 feet above sea level. The Specific Plan discourages building upward.

Whatever the facility is used for, planners want to limit traffic into and out of the area to no more than 3,500 average daily trips. Based on those standards, corporate offices would be limited to 267,000 square feet, general offices to 205,000 square feet and residential uses to 437 dwelling units.

Increased traffic is a concern for neighbors such as Dixon. The Oaknoll Villa Homeowners Assn. has scheduled a meeting with planners and city officials Wednesday to discuss how changes at 401 W. Hillcrest Drive might affect their property values, lifestyle and safety.

“It has been an abandoned building for almost four years,” Dixon said. “The things that have gone on make us think there is certainly a possibility for the vandalism to spread. We’re concerned about how soon the city is going to take steps to get some occupancy there.”

Neighbors have experienced what Dixon terms daring, daylight break-ins, that he said might be attributable to the vandalism taking place up on the hill. On Memorial Day weekend, Dixon said, neighbors noticed a group of young men headed into the old city hall with overnight bags and blanket rolls. They notified the police.

“It turned out they were going up there to have a paintball war,” Dixon said, referring to a game in which players shoot each other with guns loaded with paint-filled balls.

Resident William Maple has videotaped some of the damage caused by vandals. Two months ago, he played a tape for the council showing extensive graffiti, couches for parties, empty beer bottles and dozens of broken windows.

Maple is determined to make people aware of what has happened to the onetime seat of government.

“I’ve been very passionate about it because it seems no one cares,” he said. “The lack of caring is so obscene to me.

“It’s like throwing out Grandpa because you decided to have a new child,” he said.

He thinks the old city hall could be declared a county historical landmark, based on its design and the important decisions made within its walls. The building is still quite new, relatively speaking, but Maple thinks that can be overcome.

“History does not have to be older than you are,” he said. “History is made at this moment.”

The ideal use would be to turn the building into a museum, Maple said. He has been working as a volunteer for the Ventura County Discovery Center, a group that hopes to open a science center and large-screen-format theater for children on the site.

The group has big aspirations but little funding. Last year, it was given council approval to pursue plans to use the old city hall, subject to obtaining $600,000 for needed repairs. Starting with seed money donated by drug maker Amgen Inc., the group is now trying to raise funds but is a long way from that goal.

Gary Elliott and other supporters of the Discovery Center will be at the Tuesday study session, reminding council members that they have not given up on their idea.

“We’re still hoping for the best,” Elliott said. “And there is always the possibility of other locations.”