Speaking in Developer’s Terms

* People in Thousand Oaks have been wondering lately about how the decisions to allow so much new construction are made. What the public does not realize is that developers and politicians speak a different language.

In an effort to increase understanding, I present the following, a translation of words from English to Developerese.

Wasteland: A pristine, wildlife corridor and open space buffer zone.

Eyesore: Any structure that a developer did not make money on building or that is on property that could make a developer more money if he could get his hands on it, i.e. any house or business that’s been here since before incorporation.

Build out: A situation that does not exist until every hillside, ridgeline and empty lot is built on.

Public safety: Something you swear to protect until it cuts into your profit margin.

Campaign contribution: Money well-spent when given to politicians who promise to vote in your best interest.

Oak trees: Very valuable as a mitigation bargaining chip, totally expendable when they are in the way.

Quality of life: Something a developer only appreciates when visiting a second home located in a tightly controlled exclusive no-growth area.

Economic reality: Something developers never have to face in Thousand Oaks if they hire the right real estate attorney.

Act of God: An excuse evoked by a lawyer when his client is over extended and can’t sell all the houses he built.

Default: A condition to bail out the developer in default. Or, slang--as in “de fault is God’s for not preventing the slump in home sales.”

So when we see how developers and politicians look at things, it is easier to understand where the video stores, coffee shops, theaters, noise, traffic and green air come from. There is one word, though, that still means the same thing: “vote.” It’s your right, use it.

JOY MEADE

Thousand Oaks