CITY'S HUNT FOR FAIR SITE MAY BE OVER : COUNCIL TO CONSIDER LAND BY FREEWAY.

Byline: Christopher Noxon Daily News Staff Writer

A seven-year search for a Simi Valley fairground has settled for now on a 32-acre parcel in the foothills above the Ronald Reagan Freeway off 1st Street.

The City Council will review a proposal Monday to prepare a city-owned parcel just east of the Radisson Hotel. A committee selected the site from more than a dozen parcels that could accommodate the Simi Valley Days carnival along with traveling fairs, circuses and other roving entertainment events.

This year's annual Simi Valley Days will be held Sept. 18-21 in the same place it has been held for several years, an undeveloped parcel on the corner of Los Angeles Avenue and Madera Road.

But impending development of housing on the land makes this the last year the site will be available.

City officials have considered several alternate sites for the fairground, including a hilly portion of Tapo Canyon Park, a wide wetland in Tierra Rejada Park and a vast canyon west of the Simi Valley Landfill. These options have been ruled out, however, because of concerns about future construction, nearby residents or protected wetlands.

Finding a large open space has become more difficult since the committee was formed in 1989, says Mayor Greg Stratton.

``We've run out of places,'' Stratton said. ``As the city continues to be developed, large blank spots are becoming harder and harder to find.''

The latest choice is one of the smallest of those considered and not suitable for a permanent fairground, but city officials say it will do for the next three to five years.

``It's a little small and there's some work that needs to be done,'' Stratton says. ``But it might be a perfect (for) interim use in the short run.''

City officials still hope that developers from Forest City will build a mall planned for a part of the land now being considered as a fairground. That project, expected to bring hundreds of jobs to the area, is the first priority, says City Councilwoman Barbara Williamson.

``If they were to say they were ready, we would tear down the fairground faster than you could blink,'' said Williamson. ``The mall is top priority, but I don't have any problem with a temporary fairground in that site.''

Developers who have pondered the parcel in the past have submitted plans for extensive leveling of the site. But city officials say they could make the land ready by moving only 15,000 cubic yards of earth.

The fairground would be accessible by a three-lane ramp off 1st Street. A second entry to the property, under the freeway by way of Caldwell Avenue, could be cleared by pushing aside dirt that was piled in an existing underpass to prevent illegal access to the property.

The total cost of preparing the land as a fairground is estimated at $100,000.

When complete, the land would include room for approximately 800 cars. Additional off-site parking would be necessary for large events, planners report.

City officials are still considering a proposal to join forces with promoters in Conejo Valley to develop an East County Fairgrounds somewhere in the Tierra Rejada/Greenbelt area between Simi Valley and Moorpark. City officials say they plan to enter discussions with the promoters of Conejo Valley Days to discuss the joint project.