A home described as invisible to Thousand Oaks was approved by the City Council late Tuesday night over the objections of wildlife advocates who appealed the planning commission's approval.

"We physically cannot see this home from Thousand Oaks," Councilmember Andy Fox said.

That isn't the case for Santa Rosa Valley residents, who will have the 6,000-square-foot mansion--with 1,700 more square feet added for garage space--joining similar homes that loom over their hillsides.

The luxury home will be surrounded by the recent $2.8-million city purchase of 19 acres of private land on Mount Clef Ridge that's now preserved open space.

The high-ticket acquisition was made because the land is considered a vital corridor for wildlife, linking Point Mugu to the Los Padres National Forest. Without this link, mountain lions, coyotes, deer, bobcats, raccoons, possums and other animals would be unable to migrate between areas, and plants and birds would also be affected, according to Mark Burley, chair of Save Our Ring of Green.

After an initial look into the matter about two years ago, the City Council decided it was necessary to buy three of the four lots to protect the wildlife corridor.

The council spent about $1.8 million out of the city's $3-million open space endowment fund. The rest of the funding came from other sources.

The council earmarked the money in the late 1990s for a fund substantial enough to allow the purchase of open space using the interest the fund generated, Mayor Dennis Gillette said. The principal was not to be spent.

The council intended to put as much as possible into the fund, build up a substantial sum that would remain whole, and use the interest to buy open space when needed, Gillette said.

Since the acquisition expenditure, interest earnings have dropped significantly, leaving less money for future open space purchases.

"As the fund was growing, this opportunity came along before the fund reached the point that we had hoped it would," Gillette said.

The privately owned 6.18-acre property zoned for a single-family dwelling isn't considered by the city staff to be located on a ridgeline, as the peak of the roof would fall about 70 feet below the ridgeline.

A 4-acre conservation easement portion of the property will remain privately owned but will become a part of the protected open space.

City staff also reported 86 percent of the site won't be touched.

Fourteen percent would be affected by a graded pad or brush clearance.

Staff members said the project complies with the precise plan of design and all city requirements and policies, with no waivers or variances.

Councilmember Claudia Bill-de la Peña said that didn't mean the home should automatically be approved.

The council denied the appeal 4-1, with Bill-de la Peña voting against the denial.