Commission Rejects Building on Hillside

In a split vote, the city Planning Commission has denied a development permit for a two-story, 55,000-foot general office building on a hillside just north of the Janss Marketplace.

“The design didn’t go along with the lay of the land,” said Planning Commissioner Linda Parks, who voted against the project at Monday night’s meeting. “The feeling was that building did not fit into the natural terrain and would be obtrusive. It was very box-like and had high visibility from the Ventura Freeway and the roads nearby.”

The planned building, on the corner of Wilbur and Saint Charles roads, failed on a 2-2 vote as Parks, who was elected to the Thousand Oaks City Council earlier this year, and Commissioner Marilyn Carpenter voted to deny the permit. Commissioners John Powers and Ronald Polanski supported the development. The panel’s chairman, Forrest Frields, was absent.

The developer, Moshe Silagi, plans to appeal the decision to the City Council.