Dinner topic: highrise buildings

About 30 people are invited to enjoy dinner while discussing the flavor of Thousand Oaks with Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks.

The first in a series of Slow Growth Dinner events is planned for 7 p.m. Wed., Nov. 14 at Chocolatine French Pastries and Tea Room in Thousand Oaks. The dinners will focus on development and good government, Parks said.

"The dinner slots are almost all taken, and I expect we'll be sold out shortly," Parks said.

The speaker for the dinner that costs $35 will be one of the proponents of the "Right to Vote on Traffic Congestion" Initiative. Those proponents are circulating a petition in the city of Thousand Oaks to require approval from voters for the city to approve large projects that would significantly increase traffic.

The notice of intent to circulate the petition to get the initiative on the June ballot was recently published, Parks said.

Parks opened her office next door to Chocolatine, 2967 Thousand Oaks Blvd., last month.

"It's great to be back in Thousand Oaks and we're getting settled in nicely and enjoying our location," said Parks. She previously had an office in city hall.

Now she'll literally be keeping an eye on the development of Thousand Oaks Boulevard.

Parks recently wrote an article on her county webpage about the proposed Specific Plan for Thousand Oaks Boulevard and how, if it's approved, the small mom and pop businesses on the boulevard will be replaced with four and fivestory buildings and more traffic.

- Nancy Needham