MOORPARK : Developer to Prepare Environmental Study

Moorpark city planners will soon measure the environmental effects of a proposed 620-unit housing development on the city’s north side.

The City Council approved a plan last week to allow the Levy Co. to perform an environmental impact report, the first step in its effort to build houses on 285 acres north of Poindexter Avenue.

Increased traffic from the proposed project will be among the most difficult issues to resolve, according to city planners. Local residents argue that the roads surrounding the property already have too much traffic and are too small to handle the potential increase.

“Walnut Canyon Road is already impossible,” said Jim Latunski, who lives on the road. “It’s a narrow, rotten road and there’s no way it can handle any more traffic.”

Dennis Hardgrave of Development Planning Services, which represents the Levy Co., said the environmental report would address some of those concerns.

Once the report is completed, the City Council will review the project in more detail. The study could take several months, planners said. Councilman Scott Montgomery said there are no guarantees the city will approve the plan.

“We are simply processing the developer’s application,” he said. “After he prepares the EIR, we’ll be able to see what sort of problems with (traffic) circulation there are and see what kind of alternatives are offered. Until we see that, we don’t really know what we’re up against.”