Too Many Questions for Such Haste

Whether a proposal has merit or not, public officials do little to foster public confidence by unveiling the details of a complicated development-rights-swap deal less than 24 hours before it is to be voted on.

That’s what happened last week when the Thousand Oaks City Council voted on a plan to preserve from development 180 acres of environmentally sensitive land known as the Western Plateau. An expanse of volcanic rock near the city’s northwest boundary, the plateau is home to unusual and rare plants and is part of an important corridor for mountain lions, deer and bobcats.

In return for giving up its right to build 147 million-dollar homes on it, the deal gives a developer permission to build the same number of units in other parts of the city, including on land owned by two other developers. Those developers, in turn, would be authorized to build more profitable housing than that for which they have been approved: apartments in the Dos Vientos subdivision that are designed for seniors and other low-income tenants.

It’s a complex arrangement that would accomplish a number of worthy things--if executed as advertised--while making some calculated sacrifices in exchange. But council members did not receive the details until the day of the meeting at which they were expected to approve it.

The measure passed 3-2, with Councilman Dennis Gillette joining the brokers of the deal, Councilman Andy Fox and Mayor Dan Del Campo, on the prevailing side. Councilwoman Linda Parks, while conceding that the deal offered some benefits, asked to delay the decision a week to allow examination of the details but was voted down.

That is unfortunate. We hope the arrangement works as intended and adds this land to the adjacent Wildwood Park and Hill Canyon to create an uninterrupted nature preserve.

But we regret that the council acted so hastily on such a complex agreement, taking action while many questions remain.