Westlake Village YMCA Proposal to Be Discussed

YMCA officials seeking approval to build a new facility in Westlake Village will discuss their plans at a city meeting today. City officials have said they are supportive of the project but have voiced concerns about its effect on traffic.

The proposed YMCA would be about 20,000 square feet and cost about $4 million, said John Rutherford, president of the Southeast Ventura County YMCA. It would be built on a privately owned 4-acre lot on the east side of Lindero Canyon Road, south of Hedgewall Drive.

The YMCA does not have a Westlake Village facility; the closest one is in Thousand Oaks. Some smaller YMCA facilities in the area offer after-school child-care and camping programs, Rutherford said.

A full-service YMCA in Westlake Village would provide a gym, a hydrotherapy pool for the disabled, a fitness center and several sports programs, Rutherford said.

“There is not much activity like what we provide,” he said. “The city doesn’t have a recreation department. We can provide it, and it doesn’t cost the taxpayer a nickel.”

However, during a March meeting, the City Council voiced concerns about the effect of additional traffic on busy Lindero Canyon Road.

Rutherford said the YMCA has found solutions to potential problems and will explain them at today’s meeting. Engineers proposed new lanes to slow traffic in front of the center and a large YMCA entrance to increase visibility, he said. Also, a study found that traffic created by the YMCA would be insignificant, Rutherford said.

The YMCA must go through an extensive approval process--including a zone change and environmental and traffic studies--before any construction can start, said City Planning Director Robert Theobald.

“The basic idea is excellent,” said Mayor Pro Tem James B. Henderson, who is also a land-use committee member. “There’s a lot of support in the community.”

If the facility is approved, the YMCA would need to complete its fund-raising efforts, and it would take more than a year before building could begin, Rutherford said.

The public meeting is at 9:30 a.m. at the City Council offices at 4373 Park Terrace Drive. For more information, call the city at (818) 706-1613.