Scaled-Back Plan for Lynn Road Studied

With a developer unable to pay its share for a road project, the Thousand Oaks City Council is considering a scaled-back plan for widening a portion of Lynn Road in Newbury Park to four lanes.

Council members voted 4 to 0 Tuesday to study widening the road and possibly some of the sidewalks, but not the sewers or curbs. Members rejected another option--using $1.9 million in federal transportation money to pay for the full project.

The vote came in response to a request by Operating Engineers, one of the two developers of the Dos Vientos Ranch area of Newbury Park. Councilwoman Elois Zeanah was absent.

Operating Engineers is prepared to build residences in Dos Vientos Ranch, but wants Lynn Road to be widened first. The company has already paid development fees for the road to be expanded. But Courtly Homes, the other developer set to build housing in the area, has not paid its portion of the development fees to widen Lynn Road, and the city does not have enough money from developers to complete the work.

The City Council on Tuesday first considered using federal Transportation Development Act money to cover Courtly Homes’ portion of the improvements. The developer would then have reimbursed the city along with interest.

But Councilwoman Jaime Zukowski said she strongly opposed using federal money for what she believed amounted to bailing out a developer.

And Mayor Andy Fox said he was concerned that spending the $1.9 million would put the city in a tough position if the developer did not pay the money back within two years. Public Works Director Don Nelson said if Courtly Homes did not pay the money back by that time, city road improvement projects would be affected.

The council members agreed to consider a bare-bones plan to expand Lynn Road to four lanes so Operating Engineers could proceed with construction. But the full improvement project--new curbs, sewer fixtures, landscaping--would wait until Courtly Homes paid its developer fees.