Broome Ranch Site for School Opposed

Open-space advocates have begun their opposition to a council member’s proposal to consider building a middle school on a portion of Broome Ranch in Newbury Park.

Before Mayor Dan Del Campo’s idea has even made it to the City Council agenda, a group of residents last week launched a Web site to “save Broome Ranch.”

The 326-acre swath of open space near the Dos Vientos subdivision was purchased in 1993 by the city and the Conejo Recreation and Park District for $2.9 million. The National Park Service owns another 314 acres of open space next to the city’s land. The property, on the south side of Lynn Road, had been slated for residential development.

As the Conejo Unified School District grapples with parents’ demands for a fifth middle school in the city and a lack of land to build one, Del Campo believes Broome Ranch offers a unique opportunity.

The Conejo Open Space and Conservation District--made up of representatives from the city and the park district--needs about $2.3 million to build an already approved public equestrian center on the land. Selling an adjacent 20 acres to the school district could provide for that, he argued.

Opponents of the idea, however, say developers of the nearby Dos Vientos subdivision should be forced to satisfy the middle school demand.

Ken Bauer, a community activist who started the Save Broome Ranch group, said he wants the community to be informed early on in the process.

The effort has been flush with volunteers, he said, including people who donated time to create the Web site, https://www.broomeranch.org.

“So many people fought very hard to protect Broome Ranch,” Bauer said, adding that he would speak on the issue at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.