ALTERNATE TO NEW DAM 'FLAWED' PARKS' PROPOSAL WON'T DO JOB - CONSULTANTS.

Byline: Cecilia Chan Staff Writer

THOUSAND OAKS - Despite strong public support for a last-minute alternative to the controversial Lang Ranch Dam, city-hired consultants have found the plan ``flawed,'' and now the Army Corps of Engineers will decide on its merits.

The city paid an estimated $12,000 for experts to review the alternate plan drafted by Councilwoman Linda Parks, who strongly opposes construction of the 66-foot-high dam. They concluded Parks' plans to build an 8-foot-deep bypass basin rather than a 1,200-foot-long dam would create significant environmental impacts that essentially render her proposal unfeasible.

However, the city agreed to share with the Corps of Engineers information about Parks' plan, which received strong support from most of the 200 residents who attended an informational meeting Tuesday night.

``The ball is in (the Army Corps') court to decide if there is enough potential feasibility to warrant further analysis,'' Parks said Wednesday. ``That was what I was looking for.''

Jonathan Lilien, project manager for the corps, could not be reached Wednesday for comment.

The purpose of the 1986 court-ordered detention basin is to catch runoff expected from the 2,257-home Lang Ranch development under construction in the northeast section of the city.

Critics are angry because the dam would force the removal of 48 oak trees, impact an animal migration corridor, affect some recently discovered endangered plants on the site and impede views in the area.

Parks' proposal claims the dam, as planned, is too big. Instead, she is suggesting building a smaller structure that would divert water into a bypass basin downstream from the original site.

Among the city experts' concerns about Parks' plan is the potential disruption of the existing Erbes Road landslide area. Problems during the grading and extension of Westlake Boulevard in 1991 required 18 months of remedial grading and more than 1 million cubic yards of earth to be moved in order to stabilize the area.

Nick Hont from SECOR International Inc., an environmental consulting firm that worked with Parks on her alternative proposal, contended that despite the presence of a landslide, the basin is viable if engineered properly.

But Public Works Director Don Nelson said that despite public sentiment, the dam - on which construction is scheduled to begin this fall - is the best solution.

``Had (Parks' alternative) been a viable option, it would have been identified long ago,'' Nelson said Wednesday. ``Everyone here - the residents, city staff and the council - we have all for years sought to find the alternative that has the least environmental impact.

``That is why the process has taken so long; there was no easy apparent solution there.''

But Parks said the city's experts had only a couple of weeks to review her proposal and she ``found lots of flaws'' in their report, which she will point out.

``They don't want to look at an alternative,'' Parks charged. ``The city is spending its efforts to rebut my alternative.''

City Senior Planner Greg Smith said Tuesday that staff members tried to keep an open mind while reviewing Parks' proposal, but he described it as a ``far-substandard facility that doesn't meet the standards.''

Ventura County officials also found ``shortcomings'' with Parks' plan and said it did not meet ``performance or maintenance goals.''

Residents such as James Aidukas asked the council to consider and support Parks' alternative.

``Rejecting the bypass basin constitutes an out-of-hand rejection,'' he said. ``This would lead people to no other choice but legal action.''

Although the meeting was to present the facts to the community about the project, many people in the audience seemed to have already made up their minds; some said they saw the council majority as hostile to Parks' proposal.