Open space group forming in Thousand Oaks

An open-space advocacy group called SAVE OUR RING OF GREEN has been formed by Thousand Oaks homeowner Shari Czerwinski.

The woman is one of the group’s nine founding members who are circulating a petition to halt a housing development on the north side of Mount Clef Ridge.

SD Development, Inc. wants to build four luxury homes in the area, in addition to the two already built.

But the houses would sever the ring of open space that surrounds the city, the group says, and according to letters sent to the city by the state Department of Fish and Game and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, the homes also would interrupt and an important wildlife corridor.

Czerwinski and the other group members want the Thousand Oaks Planning Commission and the City Council to disallow any community development code changes that would facilitate construction. Better yet, the group says it wants the city to buy the four large lots from the developer and to designate them as permanent open space.

Contractor Mike Dubin maintains that it’s his property and he has every legal right to develop it. He said his company is working with the Conservancy to increase the amount of open space included in the project.

SAVE OUR RING OF GREEN has gathered more than 1,000 signatures opposing Dubin’s plans.

The other founders of the advocacy group are: Sue Boecker, Mark Burley, Suzanne Duckett, Janis Gardner, Debbie Gregory, Clint Matkovitch, Tom Ritch and Mary Weisbrock.

The group’s Web address is SaveOurRingOfGreen.com.

—Billie Owens