Westlake Village : Developer Asks to Add Shops, Homes to Plan

Westlake Village officials are studying a proposal to revise the Westlake North Specific Plan to reduce the amount of office and business park space in return for increasing the amount of retail space and residential units.

Planning Director Bob Theobold said a hearing is expected to be held before the City Council in April on the proposal by Tampa, Fla.-based Richland Westlake Ltd., which owns the 130 acres included in the Specific Plan.

The plan, drawn up in 1989, covers an area bordered by Lindero Canyon Road, Thousand Oaks Boulevard, Agoura Hills, and the Ventura Freeway. It is divided into areas A through F. Another portion has been set aside for a public park.

The Specific Plan allows for the construction of a 250-room hotel in area A, and 213,000 square feet of office and restaurant space in area B. Theobold said that Richland Westlake wants to introduce retail shops into the two areas and retain the option to build a hotel.

Area C sets aside 376,000 square feet of office space. Richland Westlake, Theobold said, wants to relocate the public park to that site, where it would be combined with a small school on a 10-acre plot. In the proposal, the office space would be eliminated, he said. The remainder of area C would be set aside for housing, as would the land now designated for the park.

Area D, which allows a 404,000-square-foot business park, would become a residential area under Richland Westlake’s proposal, Theobold said. A PriceCostco store is now being built on area E.

The city is reviewing Irvine-based Western Pacific Housing’s proposal to build 183 single-family homes on a 23-acre site in area F. The council is expected to hold a hearing on the proposal in March, officials said. Theobold said the proposal is consistent with the current Specific Plan, which would allow for construction of 250 condominium units on the site.