Council May Tighten Limit on New Homes
A growth control measure embraced by city voters 18 years ago will soon get a closer look.
City Council members have unanimously agreed to revisit Measure A, which permits up to 500 new homes in Thousand Oaks each year.
As nearly all of this city’s homes have already been built, City Councilwoman Judy Lazar on Tuesday asked her colleagues to look at tightening the measure--possibly by limiting the annual number of housing allotments or giving preference to affordable housing, special needs housing, projects near transportation corridors and so-called in-fill housing--projects that fill the gaps between other developments.
“Eighteen years is a long time to go for an ordinance,” Lazar said.
Her colleagues agreed. At the urging of Councilwoman Elois Zeanah, however, they asked city staff to examine both the allotments given each year and how many allotments were rolled over or “banked” each year.
Measure A--also called the Residential Development Control Ordinance--was approved by voters in 1980 and renewed in 1990. Due to expire at the end of 2002, the measure allows building permits to be pulled for 500 homes each year.
In a move that predates the current council, that limit was upped to 650 between 1990 and 1994 to accommodate a handful of large projects.
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