Generally speaking, there are two kinds of people who are concerned about preserving Thousand Oaks’ natural beauty: those who constantly weigh the balance of economic and social gain against a respect for the environment, and those who are concerned about the environment to the exclusion of everything else.

It’s time for those citizens in the first category to take a stand for Lang Ranch Community Park.

When word came down last month that the Conejo Rec and Park District was abandoning its 10-year, $2.5-million effort to build a full-service park—complete with six baseball diamonds, a community center and a wide range of amenities—on a piece of property bordered by Erbes Road, Avenida de Los Arboles and Westlake Boulevard, not everyone was disappointed.

For the Lang Ranch Park Neighborhood Association, which fought for years to see the plan scaled back, saying it was too intense and would lead to too much noise and traffic, and cause too many disruptions to the environment, Mother Nature ultimately finished the job. A geotechnical study determined the park district would have to spend $10 million to $15 million just to get the hillside property up to safety standards for grading, making the plans cost-prohibitive.

With that proposal now on the cutting room floor, the park district is in search of Plan B.

Two events are scheduled next week to allow CRPD officials to gain public input on how it can improve parks and recreational amenities in the Lang Ranch neighborhood and surrounding communities (see details on page 23).

We encourage anyone who cares about our local parks system to attend, whether it’s to share ideas or simply to learn more about the topic. But it’s especially important for those folks who want to see more than a few park benches, trail signs and restrooms on the Lang Ranch property to be there.

Why? Because you can bet the Lang Ranch Park Neighborhood Association will be, advocating for a less-is-more approach.

Well, sometimes less isn’t more, it’s just less. The park district needs participation from residents who care about the environment but who also care about making Thousand Oaks a better place to raise a family. Natural beauty is great, but the children of northeast T.O. aren’t clamoring for new places to hike. They want a place to play, to enjoy, to get active.

While the residents of Lang Ranch won’t get the park they dreamed of, they should get whatever’s next best. The hope of creating a place generations of families can enjoy isn’t over yet, not by a landslide.