In Thousand Oaks, Political Rhetoric Could Intensify

Forgive Councilwoman Judy Lazar for not expressing grandiose aspirations heading into 1998.

After the political tumult Thousand Oaks endured in 1997--highlighted by the pricey and ultimately unsuccessful drive to boot Councilwoman Elois Zeanah from office--city leaders could use some time to catch their breath, Lazar said.

“I hope we have a quiet, uneventful year, with no big issues to speak of,” Lazar said, winding down after Christmas with her 2-year-old grandson. “I think this city has done a good job of planning for the future. All the major decisions have already been made.”

Lazar, however, knows the truth: 1998 is an election year. She, along with Zeanah and Councilman Andy Fox, will have to fight to keep their seats in what is widely expected to be a titanic struggle between the city’s warring political camps. If anything, political rhetoric in this city will most likely increase in coming months.

“I’m not predicting that it will be a quiet year,” Lazar said. “I just hope that it is.”

Mayor Mike Markey, for one, believes assumptions that the council’s bickering and divisiveness will only escalate in coming months are unfounded.

He sees city leaders making an effort to set differences aside and work more professionally--and he argues it is working, judging from the last few meetings of the year. A workshop on council norms and relations set for January--with help from a professional mediator--should continue the kinder, gentler council trend, he said.

“I don’t consider council relations a major issue,” Markey said. “We’ve had meetings recently where there were differences of opinion, but there was not the kind of name-calling you saw before. If we maintain that, we’ll be fine.

“I’m sure we’ll have meetings where we won’t behave professionally, but we can’t dwell on that,” he added. “I truly believe we have five people who care about this city, and that’s the important thing.”

Councilwoman Linda Parks agrees the need for council unity is somewhat overblown, albeit for different reasons.

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She believes the philosophical schism that usually leads to council infighting is irreparable, and that no one should alter their political beliefs simply to make amends with their elected peers.

“I just think it’s not a substantive issue,” Parks said. “I would rather have a council that represents the diverse viewpoints in the community than one that votes together on everything. That’s not what the public wants. As a voter, I want someone with some backbone.”

Contrasted with recent years, Thousand Oaks leaders are expected to make few development decisions of importance in 1998. With the city about 90% built out, no major building projects are expected to go before city boards.

In fact, the biggest development proposal facing city leaders is one of their own design: the plan to build a golf course and recreational complex in environmentally sensitive Hill Canyon.

The challenging 18-hole course, which would be crowned with an opulent clubhouse at the top of the canyon, linked to the floor by a steep path, is expected to bring much-needed money into city coffers and relieve pressure from overused Los Robles Greens, currently the city’s only public course.

A joint project between Thousand Oaks and the Conejo Recreation and Park District, the course would be overseen by golf course architect Michael Hurdzan, who has developed a reputation for blending courses with natural landscape.

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Although most city leaders consider the plan as environmentally sound as possible, the state Department of Fish and Game has raised objections to building in Hill Canyon--Thousand Oaks’ last pristine wetland area.

Parks also believes Hill Canyon is too sensitive and important an environmental resource to trifle with.

“I feel Hill Canyon is going to feature prominently in our discussions in 1998,” Parks said. “There are major economic and environmental problems with the project as far as I’m concerned. You just don’t replace oak forests or wetlands.”

Lazar sees the issue differently. She argues Hill Canyon is now sadly underused by most Thousand Oaks residents, and the plan would not only bring golfers into the area but increase accessibility for hikers, mountain bikers and horseback riders.

The Hill Canyon environment, she said, has been trampled by four-wheelers and beer drinkers for years and would be monitored more closely than ever under the golf course proposal.

“Hill Canyon is going to get some real study this year, and I hope it moves forward, because I think it will open that area to greater use by homeowners instead of abuse by off-roaders,” Lazar said. “It’s a wonderful asset to the community, much like Wildwood [Mesa], but right now, you don’t see too many people back there.”

At the city’s commercial core, Thousand Oaks Boulevard again is expected to be the focus of attention. This year, unlike the rest of this decade, the long-standing talk of revitalizing the four-mile corridor might actually yield results.

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The West Boulevard Business Group, a coalition of businesses on the section of the thoroughfare between Moorpark Road and California 23, has been working with city officials on what it sees as improvements that would jump-start the area.

One of those ideas--for the city to purchase a vacant, polluted former gas station and turn it into a small park--is already underway. And others, such as adding park benches and old-fashioned street lights, are expected in coming months.

Unlike previous years, there seems to be consensus among businesses in at least some sections of “the boulevard” as to what needs to be done, Lazar said.

“The efforts to improve Thousand Oaks Boulevard are going to be a big, big issue,” Lazar said. “I feel very positive about it, because the businesses have come together with the things they think need to take place.

“There are some people who don’t want to see any change on the boulevard, and that’s fine,” she added. “They don’t think it’s needed. But there are other people, in other sections of the boulevard, who feel differently, and I think we need to assist them. I think it will be a real plus.”

Perhaps the biggest change on the horizon for Thousand Oaks Boulevard will involve what happens with the vacant lot east of the Civic Arts Plaza.

The city-owned property was to be initially developed as a restaurant and entertainment complex, and still might. But earlier this year, residents and homeowner groups strongly criticized the original plans by developer Kilroy Industries as blase and not befitting a town center project.

Instead, council members have decided to pursue a plan by Fox that has various developers making presentations in a televised meeting, with residents voting over the phone on which plan they like best.

The touch-tone survey would then be used by the council for perspective, but would not necessarily determine what would be built.

Parks hopes that whatever occurs on the site mirrors the community’s wishes--even if it is only a park--instead of what she sees as the desire of city officials to allow tax-generating businesses on the site, a plan that would bring a higher price for the land.

“Whether the city looks to maximize profit or conform to the wishes of the citizens will be interesting,” Parks said. “Those issues often conflict.”