Acquisition-Minded City Seeking Ways to Pay for New Projects : Finances: Thousand Oaks faces challenge during ’96 of funding an expanded sewer system, more schools, open space and recreational facilities.

Barely a year after opening the $64-million Civic Arts Plaza, Thousand Oaks is still in an acquisitive mood.

An expanded sewer system: $75 million. More schools, open space and recreational facilities: $40 million to $60 million.

But as 1996 arrives, the City Council must resolve how to pay for these projects. Some of the ideas--including higher sewer rates and new taxes on business and development--have been shot down in recent months.

And with two members up for reelection in the new year, the council shows no signs of letting up on the contentious dialogue that has marked many meetings.

The first task facing the City Council in 1996 will be clearing up a bit of leftover business from 1995--adopting the $57-million spending plan the council never got around to finishing last summer.

The proposed budget--which would leave a $1.5-million deficit if everyone’s pet programs were approved--won’t be the only bear the council wrestles in January.

Also on its plate is what Mayor Andy Fox refers to as the “dreaded waste-water issue,” the continuing battle over a plan to spend $75 million on improvements at the city’s sewage-treatment plant.

“It’s an issue that really needs to be dealt with,” Fox said. “It’s not going to go away.”

Although sewage doesn’t seem like a particularly scintillating topic, the fight over the issue has occupied the council since November, returning to the agenda every couple of weeks for further debate. The council agreed last week to plan a group tour and workshop session at the Hill Canyon plant just after the new year.

Councilwomen Elois Zeanah and Jaime Zukowski see things one way, opposing raising residents’ sewer rates 70% to pay for increased capacity and improvements at the plant, which they say may not be needed.

Both council members have openly expressed concerns that there may be a conspiracy afoot to increase the city’s sewage capacity so developers can run rampant in Thousand Oaks, building more housing than the city’s founders ever dreamed of allowing.

On the other side are Fox, Councilman Mike Markey and Councilwoman Judy Lazar, who say the improvements are needed for health and safety reasons. They dismiss the idea that they are part of some grand conspiracy.

Normally, the dispute would result in a 3-2 vote and the issue would be settled, but in this case a four-fifths vote is required to raise residents’ monthly sewer rates.

The January workshop, which will be televised on cable, is being pegged as a chance to find a compromise. Zeanah and Zukowski agreed that some work needs to be done at the Hill Canyon plant, which was built in 1960. Zeanah has suggested a monthly increase of $1.80 per household in sewer rates, instead of the proposed $7 hike.

While Fox and the others would like to see the entire $7 increase--a sum endorsed by a task force of about 20 members of the business community--he is willing to concede that the final number will probably be somewhere between that figure and what Zeanah wants.

“I think the workshop is going to do a lot to help the council reach consensus and also to educate the community as to exactly what happens when you flush your toilet,” Fox said.

Once the budget process is complete and the waste-water issue settled, the council will have plenty of other business to attend to. The coming year is an election year, and Zukowski and Markey are both up for reelection in November.

Zukowski, who just finished a term as mayor, said she hasn’t decided whether she will run again. Her husband, a scientist in Amgen’s research department, frequently works at the company’s Boulder, Colo., office, and Zukowski said dividing time between the two cities is a challenge.

“It’s so much travel,” she said. “We will have to decide where he spends the bulk of his time. I’m going to evaluate that in the coming year.”

Markey, who is still a newcomer to the council after winning a special election in June, said he has already made his decision.

“I’m definitely going to run again,” he said.

The two council seats probably will not be the only items on the November ballot of interest to Thousand Oaks voters. The city, school and park districts are considering a joint bond issue to build new facilities in the city. The three organizations have hired a pollster to canvass residents and learn what the community wants in terms of recreational outlets, more open space and enhancements to area schools.

That bond could be in the $40-million to $60-million range.

Zeanah said she wants to see the pollster’s findings, but believes the community will want specifics before it votes on a bond. She said the bond should focus on the acquisition of open space. Thousand Oaks’ open-space agency is nearly out of money to acquire new land.

“Maybe the pollster will find there is support but I cannot visualize this community going for such a giant bond for so many issues,” Zeanah said.

Zeanah said open-space acquisition is one of the most important issues that will face Thousand Oaks in 1996. Her other priority involves keeping local taxes--like the sewer increase--from being raised.

“If I want to send a New Year’s warning to the public, I would say, ‘Watch your pocketbook because this city is looking for every way to raise taxes,’ ” she said.

While Zeanah supported the idea of a bedroom tax on developers last fall, she and Zukowski together shot down a plan by the majority council to raise the business tax. Both issues may return for council consideration again in 1996 and could crop up on the November ballot for voters’ approval.

Although there are no major real estate developments on the horizon for 1996, some legal problems over past council decisions continue to haunt the city and will need resolution in the new year.

A March court date has been set for arbitration of the Cohan family’s lawsuit against the city. In 1994, the Cohans successfully sued Thousand Oaks for unfairly delaying a commercial center they proposed to build in Newbury Park. With the help of two mediators, the city has been trying to reach an out-of-court settlement with the family.

If all goes well, City Atty. Mark Sellers said, a settlement would not involve the city forking over millions of dollars in damages to the Cohans. But he still cannot rule out the possibility.

“There is always that likelihood,” Sellers said. “And it wouldn’t surprise me.”

Another lawsuit against the city, by the Sierra Club, is still in the appeal process. While the group lost its claim in lower court that the city violated its own environmental policies in approving the Dos Vientos development planned for Newbury Park, the Sierra Club’s case is awaiting a ruling from the state Court of Appeal.

Meanwhile, one of the Dos Vientos developers, Courtly Homes, has been in default on $800,000 in fees to the city for the past two years. Sellers said he hopes there will be some settlement on that issue in the early part of 1996 as well.

Another lingering issue is what to do about 401 Hillcrest Drive, the old city hall, which has been abandoned for more than five years and has been ravaged by vandals.

The council decided last week that the smaller of the two buildings on Hillcrest Drive should be repaired so it would be more attractive to renters. Renovation costs have not been determined yet, but the council hopes the city can recoup some money from the building through leasing.