Thousand Oaks council OKs 30-unit apartment complex with affordable units

A project to build a 30-unit apartment complex on three-quarters of an acre at 170 Erbes Road will move forward with a 5-0 vote of the Thousand Oaks City Council Tuesday.

The vote upheld the planning commission’s previous approval of the building with three stories above a partially underground garage. Council members said they were sympathetic to the two people with concerns about the project, but noted they saw no reason to go against a state law providing what's called a bonus density.

"We hear all the time that we need more housing," Council member Bob Engler said. "This is a project that leaves our open space areas alone."

Before the vote, Senior Planner Justine Kendall told the council that in committing five of the 30 apartments to affordable housing for low-income residents, the developer meets state criteria that allows the bonus density, meaning more than the 20 apartments that zoning would normally allow.

Patrick Naylon, owner of Rachel Terrace Apartments at 1800 Foursite Lane, directly northeast of the site, and Meriko Bradford, who owns a single-family rental house at 150 Erbes Road, southwest of the site, appealed the planning commission’s July 10 approval.

Bradford said the developer had worked with her on addressing most of her 11 concerns, but she remained uncertain about the project blocking her access for maintenance on her garage. She brought a model she created of the area and her house to illustrate her points before the council.

Later in the meeting, one of the developer's representatives said he would work with Bradford to solve the problem.

Naylon had a greater number of concerns, ranging from noise to what he called an invasion of his tenants' privacy. He said the density bonus law is being applied in a way that threatens the environment, public safety and the health of his tenants.

“You’re trying to cram a 50,000 square-foot building in three-quarters of an acre,” Naylon said.

Naylon said he has never “seen anything so insensitive to neighbors.” He is a real estate broker and lawyer who has built apartments, gas stations and shopping centers.

He warned the project would be a “nightmare of construction” as the developer makes way for it by ripping out the hill in the neighborhood.

Naylon said he bought his property in 1999 assuming only 15 units would be built someday at the neighboring property.

“My argument is that we are at this point not because of the city of Thousand Oaks but because of the state of California trying to enforce its density bonus laws on us,” Naylon said. “And now I’m in the firing line of density bonus laws. I’m here to do one thing, and that’s to protect my tenants.”

Mayor Kevin McNamee acknowledged the state law.

“It’s unfortunate that we are under the gun of Sacramento, forcing its will on upon us by having density bonuses and certain parking requirements that may not fit in within the city,” he said. “But that’s what we have to navigate through and what we have to live with.”

Naylon showed the council his sketch of his apartments and the proposed apartments to back his belief that the latter would be much taller.

“When this project is finished, it will be 41 feet high, and it will look directly down into the apartments on the south side of my building and the north side of her (Bradford’s) building,” Naylon said. “This will create an invasion of privacy, a fire hazard and a multitude of other problems.”

But McNamee said he doesn’t see that much of a height difference between the two apartment houses in the renderings from city staff. He added that any difference can covered up by trees and other landscaping.

And Mark Pettit of the architectural firm Lauterbach & Associates said the new apartment complex is being designed in a way to respect nearby properties.

"We try to minimize any windows with views to the neighbors," Pettit told the council. "We tried to keep parking inside the building.

"We think we have a beautiful building here that will be an asset to the community," Pettit added.

Naylon warned the project would create “a traffic nightmare” and lacks sufficient parking.

Kendall, the senior planner, countered that the developer plans to include 42 parking spaces, more than the 32 required by state law. She also noted public street parking is available on Erbes Road and Thousand Oaks Boulevard.

“I’m glad the applicant put in parking because I don’t want this to be Santa Monica, west L.A., Burbank, where people have to park on the street and hike a quarter of a mile to get back to their apartment,” McNamee said.

Dave Mason covers East County for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at dave.mason@vcstar.com or 805-437-0232.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Thousand Oaks council OKs 30-apartment complex on Erbes Road