Dispute Over Probst Fence Heats Up Again

The millionaire namesake of this city’s performing arts center is back in the middle of an old controversy that has heated up over the past several weeks--what to do about a wrought-iron fence around his home that he was allowed to build last year.

Charles E. Probst, who promised to relocate what he insisted was a temporary fence erected 10 feet from his Westlake Boulevard property line by July 31, is being asked by city officials to make good on his word and move the barrier back 35 feet from the busy street.

Otherwise, City Atty. Mark G. Sellers said Wednesday, city workers may enter his property and remove the black ornamental fence themselves.

The new dispute puts the reclusive millionaire in the middle of two ongoing high-profile controversies, the other involving allegations that Probst may be backing away from his $2-million pledge to a Civic Arts Plaza endowment.

But Councilwoman Elois Zeanah, who last week said she was told that Probst had failed to make his promised payments to the fund-raising arm of the arts complex, said Wednesday she has no reason to believe the two issues are related.

“I hesitate to make that connection,” said Zeanah, who said the fence has become an issue with Probst’s neighbors, and that all residents deserve the same treatment from the city.

Last October, weeks before his controversial application to construct a fence and bunker and landscape his property, Probst pledged $2 million to the Civic Arts Plaza, the largest single donation to the arts complex. Officials then named the 1,800-seat auditorium the Charles E. Probst Center for the Performing Arts.

The City Council later approved Probst’s landscaping application on a 3-2 vote, prompting accusations by some council members and residents that the millionaire had been given special treatment because of his large donation. Zeanah and Thousand Oaks Mayor Jaime Zukowski voted against the project.

Within days, Probst installed his ornamental wrought-iron fence. But contrary to the city’s agreement that stated the fence should be 35 feet from the street, he installed it 10 feet from Westlake Boulevard.

After the city informed him last November that the fence was too close to the street, Probst and his lawyers negotiated a special deal with City Atty. Sellers in December. According to city records, the deal allowed the fence to remain in place through July, at which time Probst said he would abide by the city code and move it back.

Sellers demanded and received a $9,000 cashier’s check from Probst as security that the city could legally remove the fence with or without Probst’s permission after the July 31 deadline, records show.

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More than two months later, the sturdy black barrier remains. Meanwhile, Probst’s neighbors have been complaining to the city that construction work and landscape maintenance at the estate have come to a standstill.

“I’ve been talking with his attorney, and we’re trying to find out what’s going on,” Sellers said. Probst and his lawyer declined to discuss the fence issue Wednesday.

“I don’t feel that concerned about getting the fence relocated because we’ve got the money,” Sellers said. “But I would at least like to give Mr. Probst the opportunity to let us know where that project is, whether it’s permanently stalled, just delayed slightly or what.”

Mayor Zukowski said she has received at least three complaints from North Ranch homeowners concerned that the fence still remains in violation of city codes.

“It appears to be a very permanent fence,” the mayor said. “And I am concerned that it looks like a tremendous amount of landscaping that was installed there is not being cared for.”

Nearby residents of the exclusive community who objected to the city’s treatment of Probst nearly a year ago have been bombarding city officials with complaints again.

“I think he’s been given plenty of chances,” said North Ranch resident Hallie Blau.

“It’s an extremely visible corner. The landscaping was promised to be a centerpiece in the community, and there are trees that are dying,” she said. “It just hasn’t been maintained and it’s extremely unsightly.”

Cathy Shutz, a member of the Westlake North Property Owners Assn. board of directors, said the issue of Probst and his fence has been discussed at association meetings.

“We have received a lot of inquiries about it,” Shutz said. “But we wanted to give him some time. Obviously, these things don’t happen overnight, but unfortunately, it doesn’t look like anything is being done over there.”

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Association officials are required to sign off on most landscaping and fence projects, North Ranch homeowners said.

Even though some of Probst’s neighbors have wrought-iron fences within 35 feet of the road, the board requested a larger set-back for Probst because of the uniqueness of the lot, said Tom Oswalt, a Thousand Oaks architect who advises the homeowners.

“A 35-foot setback would allow for more plants and vegetation to grow in front of the fence,” Oswalt said. “What we’re trying to avoid is this compound look, so it remains open and beautiful.”

In addition to the city’s threat to tear down the fence, Probst is under attack from Zeanah about the reports that he has not made the second scheduled payment on his pledge of $2 million over a four-year period.

She has suggested that his name be taken off the Charles E. Probst Center for the Performing Arts.

But officials of the Alliance for the Arts, the center’s nonprofit fund-raising arm, have refused to discuss whether Probst is behind on payments, saying they are bound by privacy rules to protect donors.

Alliance board member Robert E. Lewis told the City Council late Tuesday that the not-for-profit agency is in good financial shape.