Master plan to improve Old Town moves forward
By Sophia Fischer sfischer@theacorn.com

CLOGGED DRAIN--Help may be on the way to clean out and cut back overgrown weeds around this storm drain on Royal Oaks Drive in the western portion of Old Town West in Thousand Oaks.

One of the oldest sections of Thousand Oaks is on its way to being improved after the city council agreed to the development of a $120,000 master plan.

RBF Consulting will create an infrastructure improvement plan for the neighborhood, known as Old Town West, located between Thousand Oaks Boulevard and the 101 Freeway west of Hampshire Road. Discussions will be held with residents, city staff and the Residents Roundtable, a citizen advisory group that has reviewed the Old Town West situation, during the planning process.

"This is a unique area in this city because this is where it all started," Mayor Dennis Gillette said. "I see this as a significant move forward to upgrade and enhance and capitalize on the charm of this area of our community. . . ."

Among the anticipated improvements are the construction of curbs and gutters, sidewalks, drainage and possibly sound walls. A separate project approved last October will install 31 new streetlights in the Old Town neighborhoods east and west of Hampshire Road using federal money.

The Old Town West master plan will create a timetable of enhancements over a 10-year period based on the availability of future financing. Estimated cost for the improvements is between $5 million and $7 million. Funding would come from federal funds as well as the city's gas tax revenues and general fund.

The master plan itself will be paid for by federal Community Development Block Grants since at least 30 percent of the neighborhood's households qualify as lowand moderate-income. The plan is expected to be completed in about six months.

The $120,000 master plan cost is significantly higher than the $80,000 originally approved by the city council in October 2005. The city issued requests for proposals but received only one proposal each time, indicating a high market demand for planning and engineering expertise, according to a staff reportStaff urged the council to approve the RBF proposal out of concern that any further delays could cause costs to continue to climb.

"Although it's higher than the original estimate, we consider it reasonable," said Caroline Milton, a senior analyst in the city's Community Development Department.

In response to Councilmember Jacqui Irwin's concern over the cost of the master plan, Community Development Director John Prescott addressed the complexity of the master plan for the Old Town West area.

"The interaction with the different driveways and drainage problems require quite a bit of engineering work to get it right," Prescott said.

The work in Old Town West is important for the enhancement of the Thousand Oaks Boulevard commercial area as well, Gillette and Prescott pointed out. The Business Improvement District is working on a plan to strengthen the Boulevard. The two efforts go hand-in-hand.

"One of the goals for the Thousand Oaks Boulevard project is to create a viable downtown for Thousand Oaks, and you really can't do that unless you have strong residential areas immediately adjacent to those commercial areas," Prescott said.

RBF has produced master plans for a number of California cities. The company has also worked for Thousand Oaks on a number of projects including the Dos Vientos subdivision, Borchard Road pipeline, Thousand Oaks Boulevard Traffic Analysis and the Rolling Oaks Drive extension.

"We think this is a win-win situation for everyone," said Residents Roundtable Vice Chairman Ronald den Hoed.