Planning commission approves of Costco plan

All five members of the Thousand Oaks planning commission voted unanimously in favor of a Costco warehouse store at 915 Estates Drive in Newbury Park that's targeted for completion by January 2010.

With the planning commission recommending approval, the proposed project's requests are now expected to be heard by the City Council in January.

Planning commissioners recommended approval of constructing the store and its parking lot, along with the removal of 18 oak trees and zoning changes to the Specific Plan, including how the roads will be configured. The Specific Plan from 1996 expected the roads to change, and Costco wants to keep them essentially the way they are now, except wider.

Also a 1.8-acre parcel of land now zoned C-2 for highway was recommended for approval to be changed to C-3 to accommodate a community shopping center and match the 16.8-acre site in the Seventh-day Adventist Specific Plan area off Wendy Drive, north of the 101 Freeway.

A special-use permit for a Costco service station with eight pumps was also recommended for approval.

Costco will add about 100 new jobs to Thousand Oaks and generate about $600,000 to $750,000 a year in sales and gasoline tax revenue for the city, said T.O. economic development manager Gary Wartik, before the hearing.

"It will be more convenient for residents in the middle of Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park," he said.

"Costco will be a great asset to all of us," said Newbury Park resident Irene Shepherd.

The proposed Costco will be larger than the 136,000 squarefoot Simi Valley store, the 135,000 square-foot Westlake Village store or the 142,000 Oxnard store, but smaller than the 160,000 square-foot stores Costco is now building in other locations.

"I guess I'm the only one here opposed to this project," said Mo Taheri.

Taheri said he owns a business across the street of the proposed Costco and expressed worries about how Costco will affect small businesses.

If the project is approved by the planning commission, the freeway off-ramp will need to be wider. That will be the financial responsibility of those proposing the store.

Because of Costco, Target, Home Depot and other stores in the vicinity, the city will widen the Wendy Drive bridge over the 101 Freeway along with expanding the on-ramp.

"I'm very much against this proposed development due to the heavy impact it's going to have on traffic in our neighborhood," Karen Wilburn said.

She pointed out that with Home Depot and Target right there, residents "don't need another big box store on Wendy Road."