Council OKs Funding to Transform Lot Into Park

Right now, the odd-shaped former gas station lot on the west end of Thousand Oaks Boulevard is just an old eyesore standing in the way of a campaign by local businesses to tidy up the area.

But soon, the same tattered, once polluted lot could become a source of community pride--and the envy of other entrepreneurs along the aging business district.

That is the hope of the City Council, which voted Tuesday to spend $225,000 to convert the tiny former Gasco site into a western-themed “pocket park” with statues, benches and trees as part of a partnership with a business alliance.

Transforming the property is expected to cost about $338,000, but contractors and merchants from the West Boulevard Business Group--which aggressively sought the city’s help as part of a larger effort to improve its end of the strip--will donate materials and work to the project.

After years of watching Thousand Oaks Boulevard businesses squabble over city plans to redevelop the mix of family restaurants and mom-and-pop shops, city leaders are hoping others take similar initiative and pursue their own plans.

“This is something I’ve been hoping for eight years, something to happen on the boulevard,” said Councilwoman Judy Lazar. “I think we are finally moving in the right direction.”

For nearly a year, an interdepartmental team of Thousand Oaks officials has been working with the West Boulevard Business Group on its plan to transform the section of the street between Moorpark Road and California 23 into a more pedestrian-friendly environment.

Among the ideas offered in the plan, which received conceptual City Council approval last year, are creating a “unique identity” for the area by installing improvements such as street lamps, clocks, benches and crosswalks--and fixing up the Gasco site.

Thousand Oaks agreed to purchase the blighted property for about $100,000. Federal Community Development Block Grant money is being used both to acquire and develop it. And before the purchase was cleared, the lot’s owner cleaned up pollution on the site, according to city planner Olav Hassel.

“We wanted a clean bill of health on the land before we closed,” Hassel said, adding that the property should clear escrow this week.

City officials are optimistic they will strike similar partnerships with other merchants, pointing to the formation of a new east boulevard group.

“It is highly refreshing to be working with a group that knows what they want and is willing to go after it,” Hassel said. “I have not heard of anyone on the west end criticizing this group.”

Councilwoman Linda Parks said she hopes the park will not only set a standard for future partnerships with business groups but also with residential leaders and homeowner associations.

“I love the idea that a group of citizens--in this case businesses on the boulevard--can come to the city with a good idea and get it implemented,” Parks said. “I’d like to see this kind of approach to residential areas as well as other parts of the boulevard.

“When someone on the east end of the boulevard, or along Moorpark Road, sees this, maybe they’ll get the courage to form a group and come to the city with their vision,” she added. “As a city, we should be doing more of this.”