Slow Growth Defined

By Dan Del Campo

The three factors for slow growth progression in Thousand Oaks are: The General Plan, which is the cornerstone of our city's constitution. The founding planners at the beginning of incorporation in 1964 believed strongly in the inclusion of open space preserved permanently and Measure A voted for incorporation into the General Plan in 1978. These three factors perform as three branches of Government providing a checks and balance for planning in Thousand Oaks.

We are fortunate in Thousand Oaks that the founding leaders believed strongly that open space would play a crucial role in maintaining the quality of life and the semi-rural environment that exists today. They established a process of combing development agreements with developers and the gifting of open space within and around projects. Projects such as the Wildwood homes that are incorporated with the Wildwood Mesa were a product of that process. This insured that density would not be maximized, but minimized.

In 1978 Measure A was placed on the ballot and voted on by the people. Measure A was the next logical tool for controlling growth for the next 20 years, with the ability of the Council to extend the measure. The Council in 1999 did in fact extend Measure A. Voters approved Measure A into the City's General Plan. Measure A regulated the number of housing allotment points of 500 per year and uses criteria that ranks the validity of the project. This processe addressed the quality of the project which demonstrated a need for additional housing.

The most current example of slow growth planning is best illustrated by examining the four planning years of 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002. During this period there were 2,000 total housing allotments available for Council approval. However, during my four years of tenure, the cumulative allotments approved were under 500 in total. There are no substantial developments such as Dos Vientos, left within the boundary limits of the City. There are approximately 1,500 to 1,800 housing allotments left under the General Plan. This year alone there were only 38 approved. Using the last four years and averaging them, the remaining allotments would be spread out over the next 10-15 years. The total number of housing units was set at 50,000. It is important to note that it is unlikely the City will reach that number due to reductions through acquisition of land for open space.

Finally, I as a Councilmember support the proposal of reducing the annual housing allotments to a number of 250 per year or less. This will continue the tradition of slow growth planning in Thousand Oaks for the foreseeable future. It is that kind of slow growth vision that I have believed in and supported during my twenty four years in the community.

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