MOORPARK : Council to Consider Development Report

After months of study and weeks of public hearings, the final environmental impact report for a luxury housing development in Moorpark is scheduled to come before the City Council at a meeting tonight.

The council will consider deeming the final report complete for a 216-unit development proposed by the Westlake-based Bollinger Development Co.

In early November, the Planning Commission adopted a resolution recommending that the council certify the final environmental report for the project--known as Moorpark Country Estates.

But several residents have stated their continued opposition to the plan to build the luxury houses--expected to cost from between $500,000 and $1 million each--on the 655 acres near Walnut Canyon Road and Grimes Canyon Road on the north side of the city.

Residents against the plan say it calls for the movement of too much soil, requiring extensive grading of sensitive hillsides. They also argue that the new housing would undermine the rural character of the area.

As an incentive, the Bollinger company’s proposal includes two 18-hole public golf courses, several trails and an equestrian center.

Originally, one of the golf courses was to be handed over to the city in exchange for public financing of some of the infrastructure improvements at the site, but that part of the plan has since been scrubbed. Now the developer is offering to possibly share with the city a portion of the annual green fees from one of the golf courses, officials said.

A decision by the council certifying the final environmental impact report would not mean final approval of the project, which could come later after hearings.