When Thousand Oaks resident Bill Bertrum approached the Thousand Oaks City Council on Jan. 13, he'd already approached many members of city staff seeking permission to fly model gliders on land owned by the city.

He'd received mostly negative feedback, he said, except from Councilmember Jacqui Irwin.

He was hoping his model gliding club, which has been around for 30 years, would be allowed to use six acres of city land at Santa Rosa and Hill Canyon roads to fly planes.

"It's just dirt and weeds," Bertrum said.

He said the club would improve the area at its own expense. He hoped the council would help him, but since he addressed the group as a public speaker regarding an issue that wasn't on the agenda, all he heard was a response from City Manager Scott Mitnick. The council can't legally speak about matters that weren't on the agenda.

"That property is part of a wastewater treatment plant," Mitnick said. The city manager pointed out it was zoned for agriculture and that was the intended purpose for that parcel.

"We're in the wastewater business there, and we're not in the recreation business," Mitnick said.

—Nancy Needham