Residents oppose Mount Clef luxury homes

LISA ADAMS/T.O. Acorn MOUNTAIN PRESERVATION-Homeowner Chari Czerwinski stands in front of the wildlife corridor in which a developer is proposing to build four new luxury homes. Czerwinski is opposed to fragmenting the wildlife corridor on the ring of green north of Mount Clef ridge in Thousand Oaks.

Some say city’s "ring of green" is being threatened

By Billie Owens

Acorn Staff Writer

A developer wants to build luxury homes on the steep northern slope of Mount Clef Ridge in Thousand Oaks overlooking Santa Rosa Valley. But some nearby homeowners oppose the project and launched a petition drive last week asking the city to buy the property and preserve it as permanent open space.

"I am really concerned about the wildlife," Ridgecrest homeowner Shari Czerwinski said. "This property is part of Thousand Oaks’ ‘ring of green.’ It’s our buffer and links wildlife corridors that stretch from the Santa Monica to the San Gabriel Mountains. Building these homes will further fragment that link."

As Czerwinski points out several of the wildlife paths she fears would be jeopardized, a red-tailed hawk soars above, sharing airspace with a hobbyist’s small glider. On the T.O. side of the crest, a bobcat skitters through the chaparral across the roadway from her own million-dollar abode.

Contractor Michael Dubin of SD Development, Inc. envisions four houses of up to 7,000 square feet each on 25.7 acres of hillside east of Wildwood Park and north of California Lutheran University. An environmental impact report, prepared by Glenn Lukos and Associates of Lake Forest, is being revised and is expected to be considered by the city planning commission in the next few weeks.

Two other houses by the same developer are nearly finished and one has already been sold. Both are located next to the proposed development and are more than 5,000 square feet in size.

The view alone from these seven-figure residences would be worth a mint.

The lush, rolling landscape below is framed by a dramatic horizon dappled green and brown and slashed with charcoal by the recent firestorm. To the right, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library sits majestically atop a hill in Simi Valley. The bucolic scene is punctuated by the sound of construction work and the sight of large homes that have stamped sizable footprints in Santa Rosa Valley.

"There are a lot of misconceptions," said SD’s project consultant Daniel Witting, a local architect. "The wildlife corridor, now owned by COSCA (Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency) is 100 yards wide. And our engineers are willing to work with the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy to establish an additional conservation easement of possibly 250 yards between the houses.

"What we want to do is doable and there is plenty of opportunity for wildlife to move through the development," he said.

Asked about fencing, poison or other possible impediments posed to wildlife by homeowners, Witting said it is illegal to poison endangered wildlife and said regulations for the fencing of dog runs and pool enclosures already exist. In addition, buildings are not allowed in conservation easements.

"The biggest obstacle we face with the EIR is the steepness of the hillside," Witting said. "The city does not allow building on grades of 25 percent or steeper. We are modifying our plans so building would be parallel with the land and comply with the hillside ordinance."

The developer is required to install retaining walls.

"We have four legally zoned, residential, large-portion lots and we have a right to build on them," he said.

Still, the opposition remains strong.

In a letter to the city last month, civil engineer and Santa Rosa Valley resident Leonard Liston outlined several objections. His letter characterized a report recommending septic tank and seepage pits for sewage disposal as inadequate. Blasting may be required in order to grade the hard, rocky hillside and the debris would need to be trucked out via city streets.

Santa Rosa Valley resident Mark Burley, who also opposes the plans, said city staffers had deemed this property "not developable" and he finds the current efforts to build there puzzling.

"The city of Thousand Oaks has done an excellent job of maintaining a ring of open space around the Conejo Valley," Burley said. "A huge amount of grading would have to be done for this project and that would require waivers.

"The two homes already built are on the (Mount Clef) ridgeline but the city didn’t identify them as such or show them as being under a protective overlay on planning maps," Burley said. "If four more high-dollar homes are built it would completely cut through the open space and a significant amount of Mount Clef ridgeline would be lost."

City planner Ed Rinke was not available for comment.

"Mountain lions hunt deer and they need all the room they can get," says Thousand Oaks resident Joy Meade, a longtime open space advocate. "One mountain lion was tracked from Lang Ranch to Newhall in three days. That’s a big range.

"If we continue to cut them off, maybe somebody’s pet or their kid might get hurt. I’ve seen the news lately, so I don’t think I’m being overly dramatic."

And if the proposed project is anything like the one nearing completion, residents said they might pity themselves almost as much as the animals.

"If this builder can’t take care of human beings how’s he going to take care of wildlife?" Czerwinski asked.

Complaints also include: the alleged failure to spray down dust while hauling building materials to and from the job site; the routine disregard of a posted sign limiting truck deliveries to between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.; and a tally in some cases of more than 80 truck trips a day through their neighborhood.

"Obviously there is going to be some disturbance with any construction project," Witting responded. "The developer did his best to make sure workers did what they were supposed to do. Some of the dust was due to Santa Ana conditions that are hard to control. And I’ve never heard any complaints about the trucks."