Things look just great for 2008, mayor says
Andy Fox presents the State of the City
By Nancy Needham nancy@theacorn.com

Lower expectations got great applause Tuesday during Mayor Andy Fox's State of the City address.

Representing the entire City Council, Fox promised smaller buildings on Thousand Oaks Boulevard than the 4 or morestory buildings reported to be in the specific plan draft. He also said lower speed limits are coming to some parts of the city.

The outgoing mayor said the City Council is collaborating with the Thousand Oaks Boulevard Association on new building designs, land uses and streetscapes the council will eventually be asked to approve after public review and revision.

"But let me be clear, the end result will not include high-rise buildings and increased traffic congestion," Fox said. After the speech, he defined high-rise buildings as any structures at a height greater than now allowed.

He also addressed speed limits in T.O. that have been set by the state according to how fast the majority of motorists are driving. The city wasn't allowed to lower speed limits, even for safety reasons, because the state was more interested in protecting citizens from speed traps.

"Thanks to (Councilmember Tom Glancy's) tireless work, policies will soon be changed to allow us to reduce speed limits on certain areas of town," Fox said.

About 250 people on Tuesday sat 12 to a table for lunch at Hyatt Westlake Plaza to hear Fox recap the city's most significant accomplishments in 2007.

Among the attendees were all the council members except Claudia Bill-de la Peña. City staff members, park district officials, school board members, dignitaries from the cities of Agoura Hills and Westlake Village, former T.O. city manager Grant Brimhall and members of the Thousand OaksWestlake Village Regional Chamber of Commerce attended.The Chamber hosted the event, and Amgen was the title sponsor.

During the council meeting that evening, Councilmember Jacqui Irwin became mayor for the next year. Glancy was selected as mayor pro tem. Fox will be serving his 13th year on the Council.

He applauded the city's schools, businesses, police, firefighters and parks.

Many of the attendees were honored by Fox for helping the city's economy over the past several years.

Sales tax now accounts for more than 40 percent of the city's general fund revenue each year.

Fox cited the renovation of The Oaks mall and thanked management of the shopping center for investing $200 million into the community. He also said that Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center has almost doubled in size.

Then Fox pointed out that Thousand Oaks Boulevard- - including the auto mall- generates more sales tax revenue than the three major retail centers combined.