Editorial: An alternative to Conejo NIMBYism

In Ventura County, the land of no-growth NIMBYism, we had to do a double-take this month over a quote in The Star from the president of a homeowners’ association about a senior housing project proposed nearby:

"We're all in favor of … highly, highly in favor of this."

Those surprising words came from Linda Spencer, president of the Westlake Hills Property Owners Association, during a March 6 hearing by the Thousand Oaks City Council on an assisted-living and memory-care facility planned for a Duesenberg Drive lot across the street from her neighborhood.

One big difference between this housing project and many of the others that have met bureaucratic death in Thousand Oaks and other cities is that the developer, Calabasas-based Griffin Fine Living, spent more than three years meeting with neighbors, listening to their concerns and making changes.  

"This is a classic case study of how to do it right," Mayor Andy Fox said before the council unanimously approved the project. "On behalf of all of us, I want to congratulate you on your community outreach. That's how you do it."

We could argue that in growth-adverse Thousand Oaks, there is no other way to do it and still hope for success, and that perhaps such a process is too long and cumbersome for a project which so clearly benefits the community. But we’ll take our housing victories where we can get them and praise the developer, city and neighbors for working together to arrive at a project supported by all.

The 89 units will include 29 beds for seniors with memory impairments such as Alzheimer’s disease, a city staff report says. The developer will provide 69 parking spaces even though only 54 are required, will build a roundabout to address neighbor concerns about speeding traffic, save as many oak trees at the site as possible, and construct a building “well designed with … attractive colors, finishes and windows,” the report says.

Griffin met five times with Westlake Hills homeowners and also with the North Ranch Village Townhomes association and the Thousand Oaks Council on Aging. The city already has eight assisted-living facilities and a ninth is under construction, but Griffin says the region’s aging population still needs an additional 800 to 1,000 beds.

Two years ago, Thousand Oaks rejected an 89-bed assisted-living facility at Rolling Oaks and Los Padres drives amid neighbor fears over traffic and parking. Kudos to Griffin and Westlake Hills for reminding us of one possible path around NIMBYism — outreach and compromise.