More Time Sought for Project Notices

When the Planning Commission was getting ready to vote on the massive expansion of the Ralphs market on Moorpark Road in February, Maureen Meyer was not aware of the plan, she said.

Her Montgomery Court home is only about five blocks from the project site, but it is beyond the area where the city notifies residents. And the 4-by-8 sign at the Conejo Valley Plaza announcing the public hearing didn’t go up until 30 days before the hearing, a city standard.

Meyer said she never saw the sign. If it wasn’t for her friend receiving a letter from the city because she lives within 300 feet of the project’s property line, Meyer said she would have never known about a hearing on the expansion.

The city is proposing to change its guidelines on notifying residents of nearby developments so that people such as Meyer get plenty of warning. The City Council voted this week to initiate a code change that would require signs to be posted at project sites 90 days before a public hearing.

The signs would provide information about what would be built at the site, which city agency will preside over the hearing, as well as the name and phone number of the developer and of the city project planner handling the case. Contact numbers for council members would also be listed.

Putting up signs earlier would benefit both residents and developers, Councilman Dan Del Campo said. Residents would learn about projects sooner and developers would have a chance to respond to concerns and requests sooner, he said.

Many residents agree, saying the earlier they know about a project, the better. Meyer said if she had had more notice about the expansion, she and her husband probably wouldn’t have committed to remodeling their home.

“There is a very good chance we would have decided to move,” she said.