Unincorporated Area to Get Advisory Body

The unincorporated area of Ventu Park will soon have its own advisory committee, similar to the advisory body that oversees Oak Park, county Supervisor Frank Schillo said Tuesday.

“This will give the people a place to speak their concerns and be more organized than what’s going on there now,” said Schillo, whose district includes Thousand Oaks and much of the unincorporated areas that surround it. “When they have a concern, they call the wrong people in the county. They’re not calling my office, and I’m the one who represents them. This will help us serve them more directly.”

Nearly 1,500 homes across 2 square miles--bounded by Lynn Road on the north, Lynn Oaks Avenue on the east, the Ventu Park fire lane to the south and Lynnview Road to the west--would fall under the scope of the Ventu Park Advisory Committee.

“Over the last year, we kept track of our constituent calls and I started realizing that we’re getting quite a few calls from that unincorporated area,” Schillo said. “It became quite apparent that something needs to be done.”

Schillo said the advisory committee would initially be less formal than the Oak Park Municipal Advisory Committee, which is also within his district and holds open elections for four-year terms.

Instead, he said, the Ventu Park committee will begin with three appointed members who have been active in the community and will eventually expand to five members as more residents volunteer to serve. Initial board members will be Al Butler, Ron Block and Ann Vracin, he said.

Residents will meet at 7 tonight at the Stage Coach Inn at Ventu Park and Lynn roads to discuss formation of the committee, and those interested in volunteering for one of the seats are urged to attend, Schillo said.