City, schools, parks and developer swap land
By Nancy Needham nancy@theacorn.com

A piece of property once designated for a continuation high school has been used in a land swap to provide Thousand Oaks with property for a permanent hazardous waste facility.

The parcel wasn't appropriate for a school, according to discussion at last week's City Council meeting, because of its remoteness and its proximity to industrial users and a nearby natural gas pump.

"The school district wanted to find a more suitable location," said Mark Watkins, city of T.O. public works director.

According to the deed, the property went back to the city because it wasn't used for a school. The city, in turn, made a land swap deal with Shapell Industries, Inc., a developer that owns vacant lots near the former school site at the end of Rancho Conejo Boulevard in Newbury Park.

The city would exchange the 5.2-acre Lot 2 that was to be a school for the 3.3-acre Lot 11 owned by Shapell Industries right next to the city's Municipal Service Center on Rancho Conejo Boulevard in Thousand Oaks, north of the 101 Freeway.

The Municipal Service Center houses the city's administrative office for maintenance and operations of landscape, streets, water, wastewater and fleet services.

According to a city staff report, the value of Lot 2 is $3.9 million and the value of Lot 11 is $2.5 million. The city is to purchase Lot 2 from Conejo Valley Unified School District for $3.9 million and exchange it with Shapell Industries for Lot 11. Shapell will pay the city $1.4 million, the difference in the appraised value of the lots. About $8,000 will be paid by the city for escrow fees.

The city will also pay Conejo Recreation and Park District $150,000 because, without a school being built on Lot 2, CRPD will lose what's considered to be parkland, Watkins said.

Shapell Industries will have three contiguous lots, since Lot 2 is adjacent to a 4.6-acre lot and a 5.4-acre lot the developer already owns, which is designated as employment or industrial park zoning.

The city will have a permanent hazardous waste facility where residents can more easily dispose of items such as latex paint, pesticides, electronics, batteries and other toxic items that aren't accepted as household trash.

Currently, these items can be disposed of only by appointment.

The city plans to use part of the area for additional storage of city buses.

Conejo Valley Unified School District comes away with money to help build a continuation high school at a better location.

New uses for the property would go through an environmental review and public hearing process, said John Prescott, community development director.

The City Council voted 5-0 to approve this transaction and praised the city's staff for putting it together.