Measure E Loophole Targeted by Zeanah

City planners will look at a proposal to eliminate an exemption in Thousand Oak’s growth-control law for city-owned property.

City Council members voted unanimously Tuesday to have city staff look into Councilwoman Elois Zeanah’s proposal to close what she sees as a loophole in Measure E, a law approved last year by city voters.

The law requires voter approval for any development more concentrated than allowed in the city’s General Plan.

But city-owned property is exempt from the law, and Zeanah argued in a report to the council that the exemption could allow the city to “up-zone” public property to increase its value before selling it.

Several council members suggested Zeanah was hyping a moot issue with her proposal, noting that the zoning of some of the city-owned properties she had used as examples, such as the former City Hall site on Hillcrest Drive, had already been determined.

“Do you have any intention of increasing density?” Fox asked Zeanah, who in turn accused him of misrepresenting the issue.

Fox then asked Phil Gatch, the city’s community development director, what percentage of city land was public and developable. The answer, Gatch estimated, was less than 1%.

“Anything we can do to strengthen Measure E, I’m going to support,” Fox said. “What impact this is going to have, I don’t know.”

Mayor Mike Markey said the real issue will be whether Zeanah’s proposed change will be worth the expense, since changes to Measure E will likely have to be placed on the ballot for voter approval, which could cost tens of thousands of dollars.