BARN'S BATTERED STATE MAY ROB IT OF HISTORICAL VALUE; LINK TO AGRARIAN PAST IN PERIL.

Byline: Lisa Mascaro Daily News Staff Writer

The old barn that for years stood along what is now the Dos Vientos property, a remnant from the area's rural past, could be too worn to be reconstructed at the city's new equestrian center as had been planned.

A consultant will be hired to look into uses for the structure, but officials say early indications are that it might not be practical to set up the barn as it once stood.

``It really breaks my heart,'' said Mayor Linda Parks, who has long worked with those hoping to preserve the structure. ``It would be a wonderful community asset to have, as a meeting place, for barn dances, to sink our roots into.''

For years the old barn stood along what is now the Dos Vientos property. A 1930s-era structure, it is one of the biggest of its kind in an area where times had changed and farms were long gone, said local preservationists.

As developers pursued plans for the Dos Vientos community, a 2,350-home residential area, the barn was removed for preservation.

Now flattened and in storage, the barn has sat for more than a year at the Olympia Farm site in Broome Ranch, where the new equestrian center is being planned.

While hopes were high that the old barn could be rebuilt on the new equestrian center site being planned by the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency, officials now say the barn instead might undergo other uses.

``The materials are obviously quite old,'' said Conservation Agency coordinator Mark Towne. ``We'll probably have to have a professional evaluate those and the best way we can use them.''

Towne said there had been concerns over having the barn comply with building code requirements and over the quality of the materials.

A possible use for the structure is incorporating the better preserved pieces as facades or siding in the new structures at the equestrian center, officials said.

But preservationists say that's a minimal use for a structure that is ripe with potential as a historical landmark to the area's past.

William Maple, a local historical preservationist, said he believed the Conservation Agency still could find ways to use the structure as a gateway to the equestrian center.

``There are a lot of options,'' said Maple, who said that even if the structure were not a functioning barn, it could sit atop the property as a sign of the heritage of the community.

He urged COSCA to defer to county historical and cultural officials to help determine the best use of the materials.

The Conservation Agency is developing a new equestrian center at the Olympia Farm site in Broome Ranch on a 25-acre area that would provide stables, a rental string, pens for training and other facilities.

The facility could cost up to $3 million to build, and the COSCA board is scheduled to meet in late January to discuss financing for the center, which could be operated by the city or a private firm.

Once the board determines financing for the facility, Towne said, the barn issue likely would be among the next items for discussion as the board decides how the structure would best fit into the new center.