Councilman Suggests Selling Open-Space Land to School District

A portion of a huge swath of open space near the Dos Vientos subdivision in Newbury Park is being considered as a site for a much-needed middle school.

In a memo sent to city leaders last week, Thousand Oaks Councilman Dan Del Campo proposed forming a three-member committee of elected representatives from the city, the Conejo Unified School District and the Conejo Recreation and Park District to study future use of the 326-acre Rancho Potrero property.

But some open-space advocates are crying foul, saying that the developers of the Dos Vientos subdivision already are required to build a school to meet the demand of students their 2,350 homes will bring.

Rancho Potrero, on the south side of Lynn Road, was purchased in 1993 by the city and the park district for $2.9 million to spare it from a proposed residential development, City Atty. Mark Sellers said. The other half of the 640-acre property, formerly known as Broome Ranch, belongs to the National Park Service and will remain as open space.

The idea at the time was to leave almost all of the city’s land untouched but to build a public equestrian center and golf course that could generate some revenue, Sellers said. While the golf course idea has been abandoned, plans for a 20-acre equestrian center were approved last month by the Conejo Open Space and Conservation Agency, made up of members of the City Council and park district. The agency, however, doesn’t have the $2.3 million needed to build it, Del Campo said.

That’s where the school district could come in. Another 20 acres--now occupied temporarily by the Two Winds Ranch public equestrian facility--is the site Del Campo believes could house the city’s fifth middle school and provide the open-space agency with money needed for the equestrian center. And surrounding the school, Del Campo envisions sports fields and other recreation facilities that could be used by students and the public.

“If we all get together, what we’ve got is an opportunity to satisfy all three agencies at one time,” he said.

As more sixth-graders choose to attend middle school--an option the district has given parents since 1994--the city’s four intermediate schools have been squeezed for space. Many parents are pushing the district to build a new school rather than expand capacity at existing facilities, and the issue has become a focal point in the current school board race.

Conejo Valley Unified School District Supt. Jerry Gross said Del Campo’s proposal will be among several options presented to the school board at a special meeting Oct. 24, when he hopes to get some direction from the panel.

The district doesn’t own any single parcel of land large enough for a middle school, and doesn’t have the money needed to buy private land and build one--even if a bond was passed to fund the project. Gross said getting a 20-acre plot at Rancho Potrero for a few million dollars would be “quite a bargain.”

“Let’s put it this way: Finding a piece of property in Thousand Oaks large enough to hold a middle school is already next to impossible. If we had to buy commercially, it would be prohibitive,” Gross said.

The biggest snag in Del Campo’s proposal would be the location, because it would require changing the district’s boundaries to ensure an even distribution of students, Gross said. The ideal spot for the facility would be in the northwest part of the city, near Cal Lutheran University.

Still, school district officials said they are pleased to be able to consider the option.

“The best part of it is that the city has finally started talking to the school district about sharing land and exploring the mutual benefits,” said board member Pat Phelps. “We have very limited options for where to put a middle school unless someone stepped forward with a plan.”

But Councilwoman Linda Parks has reservations about Del Campo’s idea, calling it a violation of the city’s General Plan. She said the developers of Dos Vientos Ranch, who are building an elementary school, should also build a middle school on their property.

“I have concerns about taking land in our open-space ring and using it for development,” she said. “That land is contiguous with a national park, and it was purchased for open space.”

Sellers said that while the property is designated for parks, recreation and open space, schools are exempt from complying with that land designation.

Del Campo said he anticipated some resistance to his idea, but said he hopes the majority of leaders on all three agencies take advantage of the opportunity that the Rancho Potrero property affords.

“We don’t have a lot of space in this community, and if we could get a middle school with recreation facilities and pay for the equestrian center, we can all benefit,” he said. “I think we need to remain open, listen and be flexible.”