City to Block Off 1 of 2 Adult School Entryways

Frustrated by a neighborhood’s complaints of traffic from an adult school--and the Conejo Valley Unified School District’s refusal to shut the school down--the City Council has decided to block one of the entryways.

Council members voted unanimously late Tuesday to place a gate across the secondary entrance to the Conejo Valley Adult School, a converted former elementary school in one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods. That hardball tactic, they hope, will force the district to consider moving the adult school, which is on Old Farm Road.

“I’m kind of disheartened at the school board,” Councilman Mike Markey said. “They’re considering this as a nonissue, and it’s not a nonissue.”

Such extreme measures will not lead to anything constructive, school board President Mildred Lynch said.

“In my opinion, this was a terrible decision for the city to make, and I wonder whether it was even legal,” Lynch said. “They want the school out of there, and that’s not going to happen.”

For five years, neighbors in the area known as Waverly Heights, an equestrian community with no street lights or sidewalks, have complained that their narrow residential streets simply cannot handle the increasing flow of traffic from the adult school.

But school district officials, who spent millions of dollars to convert the facility into an adult school, have repeatedly said they cannot afford to place it elsewhere.

Neighbors turned to the City Council for help, arguing vehemently that their streets had become crowded speedways and that their children and horses were in danger. In response, city officials placed speed bumps on Montgomery Road, which leads to the school’s main entrance.

However, residents said that only moved the problem to Waverly Heights Drive, which leads to the school’s secondary entrance.

Thousand Oaks considered placing speed bumps on Waverly Heights Drive, or building an access road through adjacent Conejo Creek Park.

But in a city survey of Waverly Heights Drive residents, 53% opposed speed bumps.

“I’m here to tell you that the city’s panacea, speed bumps, is not the answer,” said resident Mike Enge, who favored the gate.

Moreover, the elected board of the Conejo Recreation and Park District, which owns the land needed to build the access road, has declined to take a position on whether to allow the road or share in its costs, saying members are still considering their own plans for the park.

Lynch stated in a letter to the council that it is the city’s responsibility to pay for the road, which would cost several hundred thousand dollars.

Sal Terrusa, perhaps the most vocal opponent of the adult school, said the time had come for Thousand Oaks to take action.

A joint meeting earlier this year between the school board and the council produced no agreement, he said, and it was apparent the school district was never going to relocate the facility.

“The City Council and/or a lawsuit is necessary to stop this intrusion into our residential sanctuary,” Terrusa said.

Councilman Andy Fox said he shared the frustration of many residents, but urged them not to criticize the school district, which he generally considered to be cooperative to city and residents’ concerns.

“Unfortunately, many of you would like us to get into a war with the district,” Fox said. “That would not be constructive.”

He said a barricade is the best option for the council to take, even if it might ruffle some feathers.

Councilwoman Elois Zeanah agreed.

“We should not put the school district’s interests above a neighborhood’s concerns,” Zeanah said.

The council voted to erect the gate as soon as possible and review how it is working in six months. It also voted 4 to 1 to place speed bumps on nearby Colgate Drive, where 78% of survey respondents said they would favor bumps. Markey dissented.

School board member Elaine McKearn, who has advocated turning the adult school site into a K-8 school, predicted the gate will have no effect. Her colleagues on the school board, she said, are determined to keep the adult school open.

But even if the school was used for another purpose, McKearn argued that traffic would still be a reality.

“When people move into an area where a school is, they should expect day meetings, night meetings and traffic,” she said. “Even if we changed it to a K-8, that would not eliminate the situation.”