CIVIC CENTER ENVISIONED ON SIMI PROPERTY.

Byline: Douglas Clark Daily News Staff Writer

School trustees have approved the sale of 36 acres near City Hall that officials agree is key to establishing a civic center in Simi Valley.

But how the land at Tapo Canyon Road and Alamo Street will be divided for residential and commercial uses won't be determined until a special meeting set for Nov. 14.

``We want to move forward with whatever we can, but there are a lot of options,'' said trustee Janice DiFatta.

The options include building a new school district headquarters on a portion of the land that is now leased to a farmer.

Also Tuesday, trustees postponed a decision on whether to sell the Wood Ranch Conference Center and Arroyo Elementary School until Nov. 17, when they will consider how the sale of surplus buildings would affect the growth of the district.

The trustees also agreed to make up the $1.5 million shortfall for the new $8.5 million Wood Ranch Elementary School, now under construction, by refinancing bonds.

At next week's meeting, trustees will meet with planning consultant Eric Taylor, who was hired about two years ago to suggest ways of developing the parcel.

Taylor said the property presents some planning challenges.

``It's not necessarily an easy site,'' he said. ``You don't have a high-density residential area to provide customers for a commercial site. But it's a significant opportunity for the city to have a civic usage of some kind. It needs a lot of careful thought.''

Councilwoman Barbara Williamson said city officials are concerned about how the land is used. In 1992, the city rejected a proposal by the school district and two developers for a 196,000-square-foot shopping center on 26 acres of the land. Council members said the project was not compatible with the city's General Plan.

``We're anxious to work with them on it,'' she said. ``Personally, I don't want to see anything like a strip mall. I want something of substance that will be vibrant in years to come.''

Williamson also said she hopes whatever is built on the property will have ``some cohesiveness'' with a project proposed by Selleck Properties, a development company that wants to build a 170,000-square-foot shopping center and 16-screen cinema on the southwest corner of Tapo Canyon Road and Alamo Street.

On Wednesday, the Planning Commission approved Kaiser Foundation Health Plan's proposal to build a 24,000-square-foot medical office on property next to the Selleck site.

The corner is also the site of the city's new $10 million police station, which is expected to be ready for occupancy in July.

Although trustees will consider building a new school district headquarters on a portion of the 36-acre parcel, trustee Carla Kurachi said no one knows how much that would cost.

New headquarters would be needed if trustees decide at some point to sell the district office property on Cochran Street. David Kanthak, assistant superintendent of business services, said the property will increase in value when a Wal-Mart shopping center is built. That project should break ground in December.