By Sophia Fischersfischer@theacorn.com

A vote of 2-1 by the three Thousand Oaks city council members present during last week’s meeting was inadequate to approve a zone change for a longpending project.

Ordinance changes require at least three votes to pass. With Councilmembers Dennis Gillette and Ed Masry absent, that left only Mayor Claudia Bill-de la Peña and Councilmembers Andy Fox and Jacqui Irwin to make a decision. Bill-de la Peña’s vote against the change means that the issue must wait until the July 26 council meeting, when at least one more council member is expected to vote.

The project involves construction of medical/commercial offices on nearly 14 acres on the west side of Wendy Drive, north of Old Conejo Road and south of the 101 Freeway. The proposal has been in the planning stages for several years. A portion of the property is currently zoned for retail.

The proposal is to construct a campus-like setting of 10 medical office buildings and 20 commercial office structures to be sold individually as condominiums. The units would enable professionals, including doctors, lawyers, engineers and architects, to purchase their own offices.

The three vacant parcels have been undergoing decontamination of solvents and heavy metal residue from the previous manufacturing operations of the Talley Corporation, which operated an industrial metal plating facility on the site until about 1989.

Although it will take up to 20 years to completely remove all contaminants, the most significant pollutants in surface soils have been removed, according to senior planner Greg Smith.

“There is no health hazard on the site,” Smith said.

A tie vote by the planning commission in May was considered a denial of the project. The applicant is Wendy Road Storage, LLC.

Bill-de la Peña voted against the proposal, citing traffic concerns and the lack of a formal traffic plan.

“I feel we’re putting the cart before the horse,” Bill-de la Peña said. “Knowing that traffic is one of the top problems in the city of Thousand Oaks, it kind of frightens me that we don’t have a plan.”

As part of the project, the developer is being asked to widen a section of Old Conejo Road in front of the proposed office buildings, expanding the current two lanes into four. There are plans to eventually widen the Wendy Road freeway bridge sometime in the next several years, according to senior planner Pamela Leopold. The bridge widening will be necessary to accommodate anticipated increased traffic once the city reaches buildout.

The anticipated cost of the bridge construction is $11 million. To help cover it, a $5.5-million federal grant is expected. The remainder of the expense would be picked up by the city and the developer.

Several small business owners called upon the council to support the project, including Carl Wesely of Thousand Oaks.

“This provides small businesses the opportunity to own our own building on a nice campus that is now only possible if you’re Amgen,” Wesely said.

Dan Dollar, a physical therapist, said his current office, near the proposed project, is overcrowded.

“This is something that fits that area to a ‘T.’ It’s better than putting up a shopping center,” Dollar said. “It’s an opportunity for small business in this community to thrive.”