Agoura Hills : Heavy Trucks Banned Near Site of Store

The Agoura Hills City Council has banned heavy trucks from a half-mile stretch of Thousand Oaks Boulevard near a PriceCostco store under construction in neighboring Westlake Village.

The ordinance, approved this week by the City Council, bans trucks weighing more than 10,000 pounds.

City officials say that as construction on the store progresses, they fear traffic will increase, and some truck drivers will be tempted to use Thousand Oaks Boulevard as an alternative route to the Ventura Freeway.

“We have enough problems with the budget right now, and repairing the streets that need to be repaired, without having this heavy truck traffic making it worse,” Councilman Denis Weber said.

The ban is a precaution, officials say, pointing out that since ground was broken on the project last year, heavy trucks have been using Lindero Canyon Road to reach the Ventura Freeway. The store site is at Lindero Canyon Road and Thousand Oaks Boulevard.

For the ordinance to be legally enforceable, Agoura Hills would have to post a notice on the Westlake Village side of the boundary between the two cities. That action would require Westlake Village’s permission.

Westlake Village City Manager Ray Taylor said this week that he had seen a copy of the ordinance but had not been contacted by Agoura Hills officials. “Certainly, Westlake Village wants to be good neighbor,” he said, “but it’s impossible to respond to this issue when I haven’t seen any requests.”

The ban would take effect 30 days after the second reading, scheduled for Wednesday, officials said.

In related news, Taylor said heavy grading has been completed on the PriceCostco store and construction of the building is expected to begin within two or three weeks.

PriceCostco officials say it will take about 100 calendar days to complete, the city manager said.