Campaign Finance Reform Is Needed

* Reading about the closure of the golf course driving range in Thousand Oaks reminds me of the need for campaign reform.

Many exceptions to city rules were made, including the requirement for a second emergency access. It’s surprising that Andy Fox, who voted for the project as a planning commissioner, would agree to this particular exception since he is a firefighter and understands the reason behind the city’s requirement for a second exit. The approval for the 101 Moorpark Road building so close to the driving range was obviously foolhardy.

So are the many other development approvals. The Lang Ranch flood control basin is one. Over 80 ancient oaks will be destroyed for the economic benefit of the developers. Developers for Lang Ranch contributed $1,000 to Andy Fox’s election campaign, and they got their money’s worth when Andy Fox took an aggressive leadership role for approval of their project.

The Seventh-day Adventist project is another. Both Andy Fox and Michael Markey received contributions from representatives of this project. They, too, got their money’s worth. This project was approved in spite of the damage to existing businesses and the environment, against city rules.

And the list goes on. Limits need to be placed on big money from the real estate and development community for candidates who will vote for projects which do not measure up to city standards and ruin our community.

Campaign reform was presented to the City Council in 1995, but Michael Markey, Judy Lazar and Andy Fox voted against it. Campaign reform should be brought back to the council soon to limit campaign contributions and spending.

Is there anything citizens can do to force a council vote on campaign reform, and soon, to cover this November’s City Council election?

JACK DAVIS

Thousand Oaks

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Being involved in the efforts to stop Sport X has been enlightening because I have become more aware of the overall development plan for Thousand Oaks.

New shopping centers appear almost overnight. More are planned from Newbury Park to Westlake. We are told we need 32 theater screens.

The latest Kilroy proposal for the private part of the Civic Arts Plaza is nothing spectacular. I find the fiberglass lions and tigers and the elephant fountain tacky. The design shows no relation to the essence of Thousand Oaks. The plan has the retail and restaurants one would expect, but it also has 12 theaters and a virtual reality center called Starport. The handout from United Artists Corp. describes the lobby area of the theaters as 30,000 square feet designed to be a post-apocalyptic space age environment filled with state-of-the-art virtual reality technologies, food courts and arcade games.

Sounds like Las Vegas to me.

It is also shortsighted to think that the retail tax revenue from all this development will do little more than pay for the extra police protection and infrastructure maintenance that will be needed in the wake of all the proposed construction.

JOY MEADE

Thousand Oaks

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An issue that has recently arisen in the Conejo Valley is having impacts which go far beyond the boundaries of the potentially affected property. The proposed Sport X complex, which has not even gotten to the point where an application for development has been filed, has spawned such a huge outcry in the community that a citizens’ initiative is being proposed. This initiative would require any development of “open space” land to be placed on the ballot for a vote of the electorate. Thousand Oaks Planning Commissioner Linda Parks has taken up this banner, citing numerous instances of destruction of “open space.”

What the proponents of this initiative won’t tell you is that the very system that they are trying to circumvent is the same system that has provided nearly all of the actual open space which makes this valley such a desirable place to live. Instead, they will talk about the development of “open space” which is typically only privately owned land that is vacant. The fact that land is vacant and in a natural state does not make it protected open space. Federal, state and local laws guarantee all property owners reasonable use of their land. While the city can deny the owner reasonable use, it must compensate the owner at fair market value for taking away the development rights.

To see the fruits of the system that has been in place since the city of Thousand Oaks incorporated in 1964, all one need do is look at the city street map, available at City Hall. The large gray areas on the map show the “permanent” open space, encompassing over one-third of the total city area.

At the heart of this initiative, the purpose is clearly an attempt to circumvent the established process of local governance. The reason that this type of circumvention is effective is that it is much easier to persuade large numbers of people (not familiar with the legal framework of land-use regulation) using emotional messages and misleading statements than it is to persuade five elected officials whose job it is to decide these issues within the bounds of the law.

In this way, an initiative such as this can trample the property rights of land owners in the name of “the will of the majority.” Unfortunately, the will of the majority does not protect the city from incurring the consequences of legal challenges that may arise when property rights are disregarded.

Examination of this issue should highlight the fact that the solution to the potential problems of losing open space is definitely found at the ballot box. However, the solution will not be found in this initiative or the system it proposes to create. Instead, it is found where it has always been: in the voice of the electorate deciding who will represent them on the CRPD Board and the City Council. After all, if the voters cannot elect trustworthy representatives to make these difficult decisions, how can the voters be trusted to make the decision themselves?

The choice is clear. Our elected officials have taken an oath to represent the constituents of their offices. Let them do the job they were elected to do.

SCOTT WOLFE

Thousand Oaks