COUNCILMAN WILL GO MOBILE FOR HOME-TRACT POLL.

Byline: Gloria Gonzales Daily News Staff Writer

City Councilman Chris Evans wants to hear what ``regular'' Moorpark folk think about the Hidden Creek Ranch project, a proposed 3,200-home development that would double the city's geographic size and add 10,000 people by 2010.

``I'm interested in talking to the person who hasn't taken part in the process - someone we haven't heard from 15 times before, speaking out on every other issue that has come before the council,'' he said. ``I want to hear from the person who can't spend four hours on a Wednesday evening waiting to speak at a public hearing.''

So if the residents won't come to the meetings, Evans will go to them.

Evans plans to poll residents at community gatherings, athletic tournaments and other events around Moorpark. The first-term council member will set up a table and encourage people to step up and tell him what they think about Hidden Creek Ranch.

His first stop will be an AYSO soccer game at Arroyo Vista Community Park, where Evans hopes to talk with parents, who make up more than half of Moorpark residents but are unlikely to be able to get out to a council meeting on a school night.

Evans said he decided to poll residents after the first two public hearings on the massive project.

``During the first two public meetings we averaged about 18 speakers per meeting, and that's just not enough,'' Evans said. ``This project is far too important and controversial to try and make a decision on it without substantial public participation. . . . I believe it's time to reach out and ask what the general population thinks.''

The Hidden Creek project gained initial Planning Commission approval about a year ago. The project would eventually cover 4,300 acres north of Moorpark College and the Campus Hill neighborhood, between Happy Camp Regional Park and Simi Valley.

The proposed development is so large that Mayor Pat Hunter set up a series of public Planning Commission and City Council meetings to discuss the environmental impact report, development agreement, traffic plan, land use plan and open space plan.

And though the Planning Commission gave initial approval last year, the project is far from set. The City Council must approve or reject the project's EIR by Jan. 23, but other steps in the process could take months or even years.

And opposition can slow the already lengthy process. The first two meetings have brought out a small but vocal opposition, including a group of Campus Hill residents and the Moorpark Environmental Coalition.

Evans also said that during his informal polling, he will remind residents that project approval is a long way off, and even if approved, early public input can have a substantial impact on the final project.

``Ultimately, it's likely that the project you see before you now will not be the one that's approved. There will be substantial changes,'' Evans said. ``We're still early in the process, and the more public input we get at this stage, the better.''