DEMAND FOR HOUSING STRONG AT SIMI VALLEY DEVELOPMENTS.

Byline: Joseph Giordono Staff Writer

SIMI VALLEY - In the first two days that model homes opened at a new development, more than 1,200 prospective buyers picked up brochures, toured homes and inquired about move-in dates.

``It was pretty unbelievable. We knew Simi Valley was a growing market, but this was really more than we expected,'' said Linda Bernard, a sales representative for White Oak Creek, development just north of the Ronald Reagan Freeway on Mount Sinai Drive.

From the 2,000-square-foot homes at White Oak Creek to the 15,000- square-foot estates being built by a Beverly Hills developer, a residential building boom continues throughout Simi Valley.

And with several new projects selling homes almost as fast as they can be built, it looks like the good times for developers will not slow down any time soon.

City planning officials say the explosion has resulted in more than 2,000 homes built in Simi Valley over the past two years, compared with slightly more than 100 homes built during some years in the early 1990s. Just last month, 111 houses went up in the city - the same number that went up during all of 1992.

In addition to a healthy national and regional economy, developers say, the city's reputation as the nation's safest and its median household income of $68,899 combine to create a demand for new homes.

``All of those things combined have led a lot of people to find Simi Valley an ideal place to buy a home,'' said Dee Zinke of the Building Industry Association.

The White Oak Creek development has already sold 31 of 44 homes in its first phase, Bernard said. The three basic floor plans include an 1,869- square-foot home with three bedrooms and a 2,252-square-foot, four-bedroom home. Prices start at $272,000.

The 169-home development is being built by Standard Pacific, the largest home builder in Ventura County.

Just around the corner from White Oak is the Milestone development, located at Cochran and Stearns streets.

Of the 96 planned houses being built by John Laing Homes, 35 have already been sold.

The homes in Milestone are generally smaller, ranging from 1,795 to 2,000 square feet and containing two or three bedrooms. Prices range from $259,000 to $277,000, but almost all of the finished homes have already been sold, said saleswoman Karen Orr.

While the homes have an energy-efficient design, Orr said, the main selling point is their relative affordability.

Beverly Hills developer Isaac Moradi, whose Big Sky Ranch Co. is nearing construction of more than 700 homes in Sand Canyon, is touting some of the big-money interest he says his development is drawing.

According to Moradi, interested buyers of some 20 proposed estate lots include the president of CBS Television and other wealthy clients who he says wish to remain anonymous.

Moradi plans to build million-dollar custom homes as big as 15,000 square feet on the estate lots. He says Simi Valley's reputation as the nation's safest large city and its relative proximity to Los Angeles are his biggest selling points.

Citing the increased interest in the housing area, Moradi asked city planning officials to allow him to build more custom and estate lots than previously planned. They gave him tentative approval earlier this month.

But not everyone in Simi Valley is happy with how quickly the new homes are sprouting up.

A group called Citizens for a Safe and Scenic Simi Valley is once again asking the city to amend its slow-growth ordinances, which allow developers to hold approved building permits for as long as they like before beginning construction.

Though regulations allow for only 488 residential building permits to be approved each year, granted permits do not expire and do not have to be renewed.

Because of that, builders can essentially ignore development codes and restrictions that have been enacted in intervening years, the citizens group says.

Simi officials say they will work to close the loopholes to the rules in coming months, most likely by limiting the amount of times a building permit can be renewed without formal approval by the Planning Commission.

A city planning document titled Vision 2020 proposes that each residential building permit be reviewed after three years, at which time it can be renewed for up to another three years.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo: (color) New housing tracts sprout up along the Ronald Reagan Freeway near the Yosemite Avenue exit in Simi Valley.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer