Council members cite concerns for
wildlife; study is under way
By Grace Lee, glee@VenturaCountyStar.com
February 13, 2004
On the northwestern edge of Thousand
Oaks, a pair of nesting red-tailed hawks is perhaps one of the more
ordinary sightings on a hill that serves as a wildlife corridor leading
underneath Highway 23 and into the Santa Monica Mountains. There is a
fear, however, the construction of four homes could change that.
Over the years, the city and Conejo Recreation and Park
District have purchased open space along and near the Mountclef Ridge.
They have protected as open space some 23 acres of the ridge
overlooking the Santa Rosa Valley. In addition, about 56 acres west of
Mountclef Boulevard have been set aside as a nature preserve by
California Lutheran University. Now a developer has proposed building four homes on more than
25 acres of the north slope, raising concerns that construction could
interrupt a critical wildlife passageway extending from the Simi Hills
to Wildwood Park and into the Santa Monica Mountains. The application
is still in the environmental review process, and no public hearing has
been scheduled. "There are very, very important issues related to this
development," Councilman Dennis Gillette said. "Before anything can
proceed, these issues need to be addressed." Gillette, who was the business and finance director at CLU
when the school set aside the nature preserve, said the university made
it a priority to protect the habitat link. Last year, he raised the
issue of the wildlife corridor's protection with the Thousand Oaks City
Council. According to him, it was too early to decide whether the land
should be purchased by the city. The council's goal is to protect the
wildlife corridor, he said, adding that "all options are still open and
available." Councilwoman Claudia Bill-de la Pena agreed protecting the
land was a priority. "This is such a crucial piece of the wildlife habitat in that
area; we must do everything we can to protect it," she said. John Prescott, director of planning and community development,
said consultants were preparing a new environmental report to answer
questions about endangered species and wetlands proposed by the
Department of Fish and Game. He said it would likely be several months
before the report is completed. An earlier report concluded that grading and work on the
property, combined with a mandatory 100-foot brush setback for houses,
would lead to the loss of 10 to 12 acres of coastal sage scrub and
chaparral, which animals use for nesting, breeding and foraging. The
report included proposals for how to minimize impacts on wildlife. Mark Towne, manager of the Conejo Open Space Conservation
Agency, said the Mountclef Ridge was listed by the agency as one of the
most important parcels that could be purchased as open space. Near the
proposed site for the four homes, on the north slope of the ridge, two
homes have been built. In 2002, the city contacted four owners of property on the
25-acre expanse but were told they were not interested in selling,
Towne said. Michael Dubin, one of the four property owners and the
developer of the proposed project, could not be reached for comment. Clint Matkovich, 22, has lived at the bottom of Mountclef
Ridge all his life, and he would consider it a great loss for himself
and the wildlife if the corridor were interrupted. "I've seen coyotes, fox, bobcats and lots of birds. ... I'm
still waiting to see a mountain lion," he said.