Some people who live next door to open space have found ways to use the nearby land.

They put up signs, grow gardens, store extra possessions or extend their yards.

The problem is, it’s not their property, and new technology provides easy access to aerial views, which reveals illegal uses of public land.

Private use of public land without authorization is now against the law in Thousand Oaks.

On Jan. 26 the City Council voted 4-0 to adopt regulations prohibiting encroachment on public land owned by the city. Councilmember Claudia Bill-de la Peña was absent.

“The city is going to be flexible in dealing with these encroachments,” Councilmember Jacqui Irwin said.

Encroachments were defined as any alteration to any vegetation, rock or other natural features; the placement of storage or any materials or debris on, under or over a publicly owned land; the construction of any building, monument, obstruction, fencing, structure, patio, signage, landscaping, garden, orchard, road, driveway, trail or any other physical improvement placed on, under or over any publicly owned land.

The concern is that encroachments add a burden to the city in terms of an increase in liability for personal and property damage and costs for brush clearance, said Community Development Director John Prescott in a report to the City Council.

On July 21, 2009, the council asked city staff to draft an encroachment ordinance, which was brought to the council last week.

The park district and Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency already have regulations prohibiting such encroachments. The city’s new ordinance is specific to the 11,000 acres of land within the city and would allow the city attorney to also enforce encroachments on the conservation agency’s land.

The attorney can now use civil filings, criminal filings or administrative civil penalties for uncorrected violations.

Prescott said the primary goal is to get voluntary compliance from individuals who’ve caused or continue to maintain encroachments on public land. Voluntary compliance would be accomplished through written notifications and direct interactions with residents accused of encroaching.

Enforcement officers include the community development director, zoning/code compliance officers, building officials, city engineer, business license inspector, public works director, chief of police, health officer, conservation agency rangers and the conservation agency manager.

“We hope that the open space land is maintained in the proper way. . . . It can be reported to us if it’s not,” said code compliance manager Geoff Ware.

Councilmember Dennis Gillette said the reported 11,000acre open space inventory might be confusing to some residents because the open space surrounding the city is a “much larger amount.” The gross amount of open space is 16,000 acres, some of which is owned by the city. Other parcels are owned by the park district, Gillette said.

The longtime City Council member also said that one-third of Thousand Oaks’ 55 square miles in open space is to be kept open in perpetuity, never to be built upon. Not even by the guy next door who wants to pretend the land is his.