CITY PRESSES PROBST ON CODE\T.O. ready to remove fence in North Ranch at millionaire's expense.Byline: Enrique Rivero Daily News Staff Writer A week after being sued over missed payments on a $2 million Alliance for the Arts pledge, millionaire Charles E. Probst has missed a deadline to remove a fence that violates city codes from his North Ranch estate. In a letter to Probst dated Tuesday, the Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. City Attorney's Office tells the reclusive re·clu·sive adj. 1. Seeking or preferring seclusion or isolation. 2. Providing seclusion: a reclusive hut. entrepreneur that if the fence is not removed or relocated by Monday, the city will take it down at his expense. The deadline was itself an extension of a July 31 deadline granted by the City Attorney's Office. The letter also asks Probst to explain by Monday why an extensive landscaping project that first put Probst into the public spotlight has stopped short of the plan approved by the city. "Six months is past and we haven't seen any activity out there, and the fence wasn't at the location approved by the plan," according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Deputy City Attorney Jim Friedl. "We're going to treat him no differently (than anyone else) in a code enforcement Code Enforcement is the act of enforcing a set of s, principles, or laws (especially written ones) and insuring observance of a system of norms or customs. An authority usually enforces a civil code, a set of rules, or a body of laws and compel those subject to their authority to issue when conditions haven't been met." Paul Stansen, an attorney for Probst, refused to comment on the issue Wednesday. Probst and his wife, Florence, were sued Jan. 9 by the nonprofit Alliance for the Arts. The suit claims that the couple has failed to make payments on a $2 million pledge toward the alliance's foundation, which helps support Civic Arts Plaza theater operations. In exchange for the donation, the city's 1,800-seat Performing Arts Center A performing arts center, often abbreviated PAC, is a multi-use performance space that can be adapted for use by various types of the performing arts, including dance, music and theatre. was named for Probst. Probst also receives first rights to ticket purchases and performances and was named to the center's board of governors. Florence Probst was named to the Alliance for the Arts board of trustees board of trustees Politics The posse of thugs who oversee an institution's administration. See Board of directors. . Meanwhile, the city is seeking removal of the 900-foot wrought-iron fence along Westlake Boulevard at the base of Probst's hilltop home. The home overlooks the boulevard and Kanan Road in the exclusive North Ranch development. The security fence, intended to remain while landscaping was in progress, is only about 10 feet from the road. City codes require such fencing to be at least 35 feet back. The city agreed to let Probst keep the fence temporarily as a decorative alternative to a chain-link construction model. If the issue isn't resolved, the agreement with Probst allows the city to take the fence down itself and recover the costs from a $9,000 deposit from the millionaire, Friedl said. City planner Ed Rinke said that trees have been planted but the landscaping still lacks the agreed upon Adj. 1. agreed upon - constituted or contracted by stipulation or agreement; "stipulatory obligations" stipulatory noncontroversial, uncontroversial - not likely to arouse controversy shrubbery and ground cover that includes carmel creeper creeper, common name for members of a family of small, inconspicuous birds related to wrens and nuthatches. They are found in wooded regions of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. , rock rose and Indian hawthorn hawthorn, any species of the genus Crataegus of the family Rosaceae (rose family), shrubs and trees widely distributed in north temperate climates and especially common in E North America. . In addition, an underground maintenance bunker remains unbuilt. According to code enforcement Officer Mike Hines, the city typically gives violators a series of warnings over a 47-day period before it takes action. "We have the option of filing a criminal complaint at any time during that period," Hines said. "I don't think it's going to happen in this case." Probst came to the public's attention in August 1994 when he sought Planning Commission Noun 1. planning commission - a commission delegated to propose plans for future activities and developments commission, committee - a special group delegated to consider some matter; "a committee is a group that keeps minutes and loses hours" - Milton Berle approval for an extensive landscaping project on his 16-acre home. That plan, which included hundreds of trees and shrubs, a koi pond, and a 1,800-square-foot underground utility building, was turned down by the commission because an agreement with the property's former owner required that the slopes be kept in their natural state. In October 1994 the City Council overturned the commission's ruling by a 3-2 vote. That vote came about a week after Probst pledged $2 million to the Alliance for the Arts. CAPTION(S): PHOTO Photo (color) A fence around the Probst estate in North Ranch violates city codes. Dusty Locke/Special to the Daily News |
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