Thousand Oaks City Council approves state-of-the-art cancer center

Dave Mason, Ventura County Star
Updated ·2 min read
A state-of-the-art cancer center in Thousand Oaks operated by Los Robles Health System is being proposed for a vacant property at 400 E. Rolling Oaks Drive. Hardscaping from the former Young Set Club, a daycare demolished around 2019, remains visible at the site.
A state-of-the-art cancer center in Thousand Oaks operated by Los Robles Health System is being proposed for a vacant property at 400 E. Rolling Oaks Drive. Hardscaping from the former Young Set Club, a daycare demolished around 2019, remains visible at the site.

UPDATE: The Thousand Oaks City Council voted 4-1 Tuesday in favor of the proposed Comprehensive Cancer Center. Mayor Pro Tem David Newman cast the dissenting vote. Newman questioned whether the proposed zoning swap met the spirit of a state housing law. Even if it met the letter of the law, he said, the net effect would be to take housing units off the market.

Twenty-three people spoke in opposition to the proposed location during Tuesday's meeting, City Clerk Laura Maguire said. Another 26 spoke in favor of the project. The council also received 35 written statements in opposition and 10 in support.

ORIGINAL STORY:

A state-of-the-art cancer center proposed in Thousand Oaks — a project that has drawn both support and criticism — will head to the City Council Tuesday night.

Los Robles Health System and its parent company, HCA Healthcare, plan to build and operate the two-story, 58,412 square-foot center at 400 E. Rolling Oaks Drive. The facility would include 233 parking spaces.

The proposed Comprehensive Cancer Center has received initial approval from the city Planning Commission. Members voted 4-1 on March 11 to recommend the council approve the project, which requires a zoning revision from very low residential to commercial. The project also entails a zoning swap that would allow residential construction on a portion of the parking lot for Los Robles Regional Medical Center at 355 W. Janss Road.

Supporters say the new outpatient cancer center would consolidate services in one location and save patients from having to drive to Los Angeles.

Opponents question the facility's placement in a mostly residential area as well as the zoning swap.

The project site was previously home to the Young Set Club, a daycare and camp demolished around 2019. A graded pad, parking lot and other hardscaping that remain on the lot, which totals about 4.75 acres, will be demolished before the new facility is built, according to a staff report.

In addition to two dozen speakers who commented to planning commissioners — 17 in opposition and 7 in support — the city has received correspondence about the proposal prior to Tuesday's council meeting.

One man who supports the project described his wife's treatment for breast cancer, which involved driving to Los Angeles and back while she was sick from chemotherapy. Another letter in favor came from Monica Murrietta, executive director of Cancer Support Community Valley/Ventura/Santa Barbara.

A letter in opposition came from a law firm representing the Rolling Oaks Property Owners Association. Attorney Mark G. Sellers of Jackson Tidus expressed skepticism that residences would ever be built on the Janss Road parking lot and said the net loss of housing potentially violates state law. The lawyer also said the proposed cancer center would be an "intrusion" into an existing quiet, residential neighborhood.

The council will meet at 6 p.m. at the Scherr Forum Theatre, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd.

Dave Mason covers East County for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at dave.mason@vcstar.com or 805-437-0232.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Cancer center in Thousand Oaks approved