I reside at 950 Puesta Del Sol in Thousand Oaks. I have lived there for the past eight years. Prior to that I lived in Woodland Hills and West San Fernando Valley for 30 years. I still own property in Woodland Hills and have interest in property located in the Los Angeles County “North Area Plan.” The North Area Plan was adopted back in September of 2003 to limit the development in the Santa Monica Mountains. On March 24, 2004, the Los Angeles Planning Commission held hearings on an ordinance that further limits the ability of individual landowners to develop the properties.
Proposed Ridgeline Ordinance: to prohibit the building, grading or even constructing a road on any ridgeline. Proposed Grading Ordinance: Limit the grading on one’s property to 2,500 cubic yards and limit the graded area to 15,000 square feet. In many cases, 2,500 cubic yards won’t even provide a driveway. Proposed ordinance would limit the amount of dirt one could export off their property. Any deviation would require a conditional use permit (CUP) costing between $10,000 to $20,000 and in excess of a year to process.
The reason for this letter is not just to express my opposition to the proposed ordinance, which I do oppose, but to make you aware of the adverse effects to property owners and to invite you to investigate how adversely this proposed ordinance would affect the individual property owners that live in the North Area Plan. This proposed ordinance affects 547 parcels, covering 14,723 acres. If the ordinance is approved our property values would tumble and in a lot of cases, our retirement assets would disappear.
The March 24 Planning Commission meeting was continued because of time (too many speakers in opposition) and rescheduled for April 18. The April 28 Planning Commission was continued because of the many speakers, 25 to 1, opposed, until May 26, 2004. I certainly hope that your paper would have someone there to see that the proposed ordinance will devastate so many people like you and me.
Phil Sidenberg