There's a huge office complex getting ready to break ground in the Westlake Village portion of Thousand Oaks, and Judy Davis, who's lived down the street for 35 years, isn't happy about it.

"It's an inappropriate-size building. We're talking thousands of cars. I don't think people really understand what it means," Davis said. "But I called the city and they said I can't do anything about it."

Davis is referring to the nearly 500,000-square-foot Westlake Park Place Center to be built on Townsgate from Lakeview Canyon to Village Glen. Eight office buildings, some multistory, a bank, child care center and a parking lot for 1,600 vehicles are planned for the 24-acre property. Several retail-type businesses are planned, including sandwich shops for office workers. The city approved the project in 2000, according to Planning Division Manager Paul Metrovitsch. An adjacent assisted-living facility was approved at the same time and has already been built.

Metrovitsch acknowledges there will be a significant increase in traffic but said mitigation is included in the project requirements based on a traffic study and environmental impact report completed in 1999/2000.

To help alleviate traffic an additional lane is planned for both directions of the Westlake overpass and entrances to the 101 Freeway. The entry to the project will be widened. The report states that monitoring will be conducted one year after most of the project is completed to ensure that traffic doesn't exceed the original forecasts.

"In all honesty, this is probably the greatest development site from Santa Barbara all the way to LAX," said Mike Foxworthy, executive vice president of GVA Daum, the leasing agent for the project. "It's the last remaining fully entitled, freeway-oriented developable place in the Conejo Valley."

Davis feels that the city is already dense enough. She thinks that condominiums, rather than office space, would have been a better fit.

"What about that low-income housing they're always talking about that's so needed?" Davis said.

Davis says she doesn't recall hearing anything about the project. She found out about it when she noticed the sign advertising the project posted on the property.

"I can't imagine that the condo owners across the street wanted this center," Davis said.

Public notification was given at the time of the public hearings for the project, according to Metrovitsch. The application came before both the planning commission and the city council, he said, with notices mailed to all property owners within a 300-foot radius. That was the standard at the time, but city notification requirements have since been changed to include property owners within 500 feet. Five or six homeowner associations in the area were also notified, Metrovitsch said. "We satisfied all legal requirements at the time," he said.

But Davis is not satisfied and says she's disappointed.

"This was an error in judgment when it was approved."

Construction will begin in May, with the first phase to be completed by the end of 2007, according to Foxworthy. Once the first phase is at least half leased construction will begin on phase two.

"We've had quite a bit of interest and are encouraged by the activity considering we haven't even broken ground yet," Foxworthy said.

Two of the office buildings will be single-story, four will be three stories and two will be four stories.

The original applicant was Richland Development, which sold the property last year to Steadfast Properties, based in Newport Beach. Entitlements are transferable to the new owner as long as all existing conditions are complied with, according to Metrovitsch.

"We're in a favorable marketing environment with a low vacancy rate for class A offices," Metrovitsch said.

"I know the applicant is anxious to get started and they believe the timing is right."