Council says no to zone change

About a dozen residents of the Las Posas Greens area in Camarillo turned out at the June 24 City Council meeting to voice their opposition to a property owner's request for a zone change.

Despite its approval by the planning commission, Duane Wasden's request to change zoning at 1101 Las Posas Road from office to residential was rejected by the City Council.

If the council had approved the request, the mediumdensity residential zoning would have allowed Wasden to build as many as 22 units in two-story buildings on 1.5 acres at the southwest corner of Las Posas Road and Earl Joseph Drive.

The twostory house currently on the property, Wasden's residence, would stay.

After two hours of discussion and public comments, the council agreed to send the request back to the planning commission and suggested five units per acre as appropriate zoning for the parcel.

After the council's decision, Wasden said he had planned to build only 12 units and was surprised by the council's denial.

"I figured this would be a shoo-in," he said.

Matthew Minnis, a resident of the neighborhood, said Wasden has told each neighbor a different story about his building plans.

Like Minnis, most of the 26 people who signed a petition earlier this year opposing the zone change live on Barton Avenue, a cul-de-sac that would be lost if the city extended the street into a Wasden development.

The city evidently doesn't plan to let that happen.

During the council meeting, city staff only spoke about vehicle access onto the property from Earl Joseph Drive. Access from Las Posas Road would be unsafe because of the street's fast-moving traffic and the parcel's proximity to a busy intersection.

"This is one of the problem parcels," said Councilmember Mike Morgan.

The council had few details on the type of housing Wasden had in mind because Camarillo doesn't require development plans to be submitted for zone change requests. But Mayor Don Waunch said without a clear proposal of what Wasden plans to build it's difficult to make a decision on the zone change.

Medium-density residential zoning would allow the owner the option of building apartments, a senior care facility or other types of housing.

During the discussion, the council asked Public Works Director Tom Fox how much traffic would be generated by an office compared to residential units. Fox said a 22unit residential development would generate an average of 220 vehicle trips a day but a 35,000squarefoot office 350 daily trips. A senior care facility would produce 110 trips a day, Fox said.

Several speakers disputed the figures, saying the city underestimated the amount of traffic residences of any type would create.

In the end, council members agreed residential zoning was the appropriate use of the property but with fewer housing units allowed.

"Ultimately we're happy with the decision," said Barton Avenue resident Tracy Hensley after the decision. "And if they come back with a low-density (request), we'll talk to our neighbors and discuss it then."

The planning commission will hold a public hearing on the lower-density zone change, make a recommendation and send the zone change request to the City Council for approval.