Divided Thousand Oaks City Council approves planned six-story apartment complex

A divided Thousand Oaks City Council Tuesday night approved a planned six-story apartment complex in a deal that will bring the city up to $15 million from billionaire developer Rick Caruso.

The development will have up to 165 residential rental units on a 7.5-acre site behind Caruso's long-struggling Lakes shopping center. It will be built on a parking lot behind the Lakes and in front of Highway 101.

Next to the city's Civic Arts Plaza, it will be the tallest residential complex in the city. It was originally proposed to be a seven-story development, but based in part on community feedback, Caruso agreed to lower it by one floor, from 75 feet to 65 feet.

In return for the council approving the project, the city will receive up to $15 million from Caruso over nearly four decades.

He will buy the Lakes from the city for $2 million. The city has leased the shopping center at 2200 Thousand Oaks Blvd. to Caruso since 2004 but hasn't made money on it.

That's because under the lease, Caruso can lease the property for free in the years he does not make at least a 12% return on it primarily through rents from tenants.

And he's never made that level of return, Thousand Oaks Finance Director Jaimie Boscarino said. So, the city has never been paid rent. The city is locked into the lease for another 36 years.

Caruso will also pay the city $10 million to $13 million over 37 years to be used for anything the City Council decides, such as affordable housing and capital projects. The exact amount will be based on the number of units built.

The project will provide housing that will go toward the city's next Regional Housing Needs Allocation from the state, City Manager Drew Powers said. RHNA is a state-mandated process that sets the number of housing units that each city must plan for. The development will not have any affordable units.

Voting to approve the project at the conclusion of a 5 ½-hour hearing were council members Al Adam, Bob Engler and Kevin McNamee.

Voting against the complex were Mayor Claudia Bill-de la Peña and Councilman Ed Jones.

Adam cited the reasons he supports the complex, including the $10 million to $13 million the city will receive from Caruso.

Other reasons Adam listed were his belief it protected single-family neighborhoods from development. He said it fostered a downtown, gave life to underutilized land like the parking lot on which the complex will be built and would "revitalize the Lakes."

Caruso maintains that the complex will bring new customers to the Lakes, helping to revitalize it and contribute to a more thriving downtown.

"So, this is really a test of how serious we are about creating a downtown," Adam said.

"We have an opportunity to get out from underneath an unfavorable deal," referring to the lease. ... "Way more pluses in my opinion than minuses."

Jones said he didn't support the project for several reasons.

"I believe the day this project goes forward is the day we will begin to abandon our rustic, lovely, semi-rural community," he said.

Jones said he was disappointed the project didn't have affordable units.

"Rather than a high-rise, I would support a lower building with affordable units," he said.

Jones said he also thinks that the complex will generate more vehicle traffic than anticipated. And he said it would probably take two incomes from young professionals to afford to live there.

Chris Robertson, Caruso's vice president of planning, government, and community relations, told the council rents for the development have not yet been determined.

Bill-de la Peña said she had several issues with the project, including, like Jones, that it will have no affordable housing.

She also questioned aspects of the financial deal between Caruso and the city, saying she would prefer having the $10 million to $13 million paid up front, rather than over 37 years.

"We're looking at dollars in 2050 or whatever ... that are not going to have the same value as they do today," she said.

In approving the project, the council stipulated that Caruso start making those payments to the city in two years rather than four as he originally proposed. Caruso has agreed to do so.

Prior to the council's vote, Caruso, via Zoom, told the council he was "absolutely thrilled with this project."

He said the goal of the Lakes when it opened in 2004 was to have it "be the key starter of having a downtown in the city of Thousand Oaks next to the Civic Arts Plaza."

But "we've never really had the critical mass to have a vibrant retail project," Caruso said. "... But I truly believe that adding this residential component to the retail will create a synergy and an energy that is really going to start this growth of having a vibrant downtown."

More than 50 people addressed the council during public comments. Most were in favor of the project. Many who oppose the development cited its lack of affordable units.

Dianne McKay, of Thousand Oaks, said she supports the complex.

"We need housing of any kind," she said. "The developers know their business. They're the experts, and they know what the market will bear."

McKay said concerns by some residents that Thousand Oaks will become more like the nearby heavily developed San Fernando Valley "is really kind of tired. This city will never become the San Fernando Valley."

Carolyn Guillot opposed the project.

The development "will change the character of our city," she said. "And it will set a precedent for more (high-rise) buildings.

"It's too much density," she said. "Too much traffic and uses too much of our water, which is already in short supply. ... It looks like it's designed for glitzy Las Vegas, not downtown, semi-rural Thousand Oaks."

Mike Harris covers the East County cities of Moorpark, Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks, as well as transportation countywide. You can contact him at mike.harris@vcstar.com or 805-437-0323.

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This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Thousand Oaks City Council approves six-story apartment complex