Rich Man, Poor Lawn Leaves Neighbors Fuming
He is this city’s version of the Great Gatsby, a reclusive rich man who emerged from his hilltop estate two years ago and donated $2 million to the Civic Arts Plaza, only to miss a year’s worth of payments.
Charles E. Probst may not be the focus of town gossip anymore, now that the mysterious businessman has agreed to deliver on the $2-million pledge to the theater that bears his name to settle a lawsuit against him.
But the issue that first brought the millionaire into the spotlight--his grandiose plan to denude the hillside below his mansion and plant a veritable jungle of trees and shrubs--remains a hot topic in his Westlake neighborhood, where some residents say it has become every bit the debacle they had feared.
In short, Probst never finished the ambitious landscaping project he fought the Thousand Oaks establishment to build. Moreover, he has failed to maintain the patchwork of trees and bushes his landscape architect did plant, leaving the massive collection of foliage in a withering, half-dead state. An aging black and gold Pontiac TransAm can often be seen on the middle of the lawn during the day, apparently parked there by maintenance workers.
“I’m really not sure what he was trying to do there,” said Ron Siegel, a physical therapist who resides in the ritzy North Ranch neighborhood along with Probst. “The way it stands now, it’s a travesty. He’s built a gaudy palace, and he’s put this forest around it that looks like an abandoned nursery.”
Probst, 53, could not be reached for comment. But he appears to have changed his mind about the once-lofty aims of his landscaping project on the estate at the northeast corner of Westlake Boulevard and Kanan Road.
“Whatever you can get from the city is a matter of public record,” said his attorney, Paul Stansen. “Other than that, I have no comment.”
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According to city officials, representatives for Probst have filed plans with the city to modify--and scale back--his landscaping. The large underground bunker and access road that neighbors were so opposed to will not be built.
Instead, Probst plans a large water pump, powerful enough to reach the top of his hill so runoff can flow downward, irrigating the parched landscape. And some of the so-called ornamental landscaping that was planted will be replaced with more native, natural flora--closer to what was there before Probst had the hillside cleared.
Councilwoman Judy Lazar said she too is unhappy with Probst’s lawn. But she remains hopeful that the controversy that continues to surround it will eventually be resolved to everyone’s satisfaction.
“I am disappointed, certainly not pleased,” said Lazar, who voted to approve the landscaping in 1994. “I want some progress. There were hundreds of beautiful trees planted. I would like to see that investment maintained.”
However, Lazar believes that since Probst appears to be working toward a solution, there is little the city can--or should--do to force his hand.
“A lot of times people think we can say ‘Do it,’ and it just happens,” Lazar said. “But getting someone to do things takes time. The city’s goal--and Probst is no exception--is to work with landowners to make change. Some people are probably losing their patience. But government moves slowly sometimes.
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“If what we reach is a stalemate, I would expect the city would follow up with prosecution if necessary,” she added. “I would hope that does not happen. But he should not be treated any differently because he is wealthy.”
Probst was an unknown figure in Thousand Oaks until 1994, when his plan to plant more than 900 trees and shrubs below his $8-million mansion stirred up a fracas in well-manicured North Ranch.
In addition to its ostentatiousness, the landscaping proposal drew fire because Probst scraped almost all native vegetation from his land--a violation of an agreement between the city and the property’s previous owner--and because Probst wanted to build an unusually large bunker for maintenance equipment.
Admonishing him for scalping the hillside, the city’s Planning Commission rejected Probst’s plans. Then--days before the City Council was to consider his appeal--Probst toured the still-unfinished Civic Arts Plaza with then-Councilman Alex Fiore and land-use attorney Chuck Cohen and decided on the spot to donate $2 million to the complex.
The money was pledged to the Alliance for the Arts, the Civic Arts Plaza’s private nonprofit fund-raising arm. Nevertheless, when the City Council voted 3 to 2 to overturn the Planning Commission’s decision, critics charged that the timing and size of Probst’s gift created a conflict of interest for the council.
“The way this whole thing developed, you had this great benefactor who is going to give the city a bunch of money,” said attorney Howard Blau, a North Ranch resident who spoke against Probst’s plan. “But it’s not supposed to influence any decisions, of course.”
Looking back at the City Council’s choice, and looking at the state of the Probst property today, Blau feels confident in saying that the approval was not only morally questionable, but plain dumb as well.
“This is a gateway area to the city, and it looks terrible, totally unkempt,” he said. “It looks like the house in the movie ‘Psycho.’ ”
In fall 1994, Probst made his first $250,000 payment toward his pledge and was welcomed into the arts community, feted at the center’s grand opening and named to its board of governors.
He and his wife, Florence “Kitty” Probst, also became political players, making several large campaign contributions to candidates in the November 1994 City Council elections--candidates who said they had never even met the Probsts.
Then, as quickly as they rose to prominence in Thousand Oaks society, the Probsts retreated. Probst, the owner of a telecommunications consulting firm, failed to appear at his own news conference at the Civic Arts Plaza.
He never attended any meetings of the board of governors, and eventually resigned from the post. The few in Thousand Oaks who claimed to know Probst said he felt hassled and betrayed by the city’s establishment.
Then word leaked out that Probst failed to make two $175,000 installments due annually on his pledge to the Civic Arts Plaza, where the 1,800-seat main theater had been named for him.
After negotiations with Probst’s lawyer reached a dead end, the Alliance decided last January that it had no choice but to sue its largest donor.
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Probst settled the case earlier this year, agreeing to make the payments he had promised the Alliance on an accelerated schedule. Officials say he has lived up to his end of the bargain.
Some neighbors speculated that Probst was leaving Thousand Oaks earlier this year when moving vans appeared at his hillside estate. But records show he still owns the property, and others say they have seen him there recently.
Cathy Schutz of the Westlake Joint Board, an umbrella group of more than 40 homeowners associations, is hoping the city can reach some closure to Probst’s original saga--his landscaping. She said the group has received numerous complaints about the state of Probst’s property, and believes the time has come for the businessman to take care of his lawn or for city officials to intervene.
“This was supposed to be a beautiful, park-like setting,” Schutz said. “The city approved this, and now they need to step in and rectify this situation. I don’t think anyone is happy with the way it looks.”
