Open Space Update OKd by Planners

A proposed update of the open space guidelines of Thousand Oaks’ General Plan has met the approval of the city’s Planning Commission.

The changes, part of the city’s effort to revise its decades-old master plan for development, will now go to the City Council for a final vote. The council already discussed many of the proposed revisions at a March 27 workshop.

The original open space guidelines were approved in 1972 and have not been updated.

Many of the revisions discussed Monday were matters of detail. Commissioners changed a proposed ban on hunting and trapping in open space to include exemptions for scientific trapping, rodent-control efforts and hunts required for public safety.

They also added one parcel of land--situated east of California 23, between La Jolla and Hillcrest drives, and owned by the city’s Redevelopment Agency--to the inventory of open space properties within the city.

Other changes focused on the wording of the document itself. Acting on a recommendation from city planners, commissioners voted 3 to 2 to change one of the General Plan’s goals, which states the city should preserve the beauty of the Conejo Valley while accommodating future growth.

A majority of commissioners said with the city fast approaching development limits, the language on accommodating future growth was no longer needed. If approved by the City Council, the goal would simply state that the Conejo Valley’s spacious and attractive appearance should be maintained.