The issue of mixed-use development is a controversial one that’s been debated in Thousand Oaks for the past five or six years. The formation earlier this year of a business improvement district along a stretch of Thousand Oaks Boulevard has raised hopes among some in the community of reviving the issue and making it a reality. Others are adamantly against it.

"I do think there are some very good advantages to the city and to the Boulevard for mixed use," said Cal Johnston, president of the Thousand Oaks Boulevard Association. "It is something that has revitalized many downtown areas."

Mixed use describes an area that combines office, retail and residential use at one site. Some cities where land has become scarce, including La Mesa, Calif. and Colorado Springs, Colo., have adopted the idea.

The issue was raised last month by Rick Principe, one of the speakers at an economic outlook forum for area business leaders. Principe, president of Westcord Commercial Real Estate Services in Westlake Village, pointed to mixed use as a way to help relieve increasing congestion on city roads and on highways. Thousand Oaks Mayor Claudia Bill-de la Peña said it was an issue that would have to be carefully studied before the city could address it.

Johnston hopes to eventually bring the matter before the city council for discussion. But first, he said, there are issues property owners must resolve among themselves, including fear of the potential for blight.

"Right now a lot of our properties are deep and there isn’t enough demand commercially to develop those properties," Johnston said. "If you look behind these properties, there are cars, trucks and trailers parked there and it’s not a pretty sight. But nothing works from a financial viewpoint because it is zoned commercial."

For the mixed-use concept to be realized in Thousand Oaks, the city council would have to approve a zoning change. There is no mention of mixed use in the city’s municipal code, written years ago before the concept was considered.

"The council is very aware of the concept and that a number of parties in the community support that," said Gary Wartik, the city’s economic development manager. "In order for any change to be made it would require substantial community input."

One property owner along Thousand Oaks Boulevard strongly believes that mixed use is a bad idea. Paul Burns, owner of Burns-Pacific Construction, Inc., said that high-density projects significantly reduce property values. He says the concept was employed years ago along a stretch of Thousand Oaks Boulevard where apartment buildings were built adjacent to commercial businesses like Tire Man, but it didn’t work.

"It’s common knowledge that the people behind this and the PBID (Property owners Business Improvement District) are the main property owners on the Boulevard who stand to make money from these large projects," Burns said. "The small property owners on the Boulevard are getting screwed."

But Johnston feels that there are many benefits to the city from mixed use, including the opportunity for much-needed affordable housing. He points to downtown areas as the best place for such development because infrastructure that would allow residents to walk to shops or to work, rather than getting in their cars, is already in place.

"Most of our teachers, city employees, firemen and police have to commute from other areas. What happens is you have an extra 10,000 people on the freeways," Johnston said. "We have no place for our young people to go. They have to go away to raise their families. We should look 15, 20 years ahead to see how we’re going to encourage controlled growth."

Johnston hopes to schedule meetings in the near future to address the concept and obtain input from citizens and property owners. No time schedule has yet been set.