DIVIDED COUNCIL UNITED ON GOALS FOR NEXT THREE YEARS.

Byline: Gloria Gonzales Daily News Staff Writer

Amid what may be the most heated political battle Thousand Oaks has ever seen, the city's five council members have agreed - unanimously - on 10 end-of-the-century goals.

Just minutes after two slow-growth activists quietly hand-delivered recall notices to Mayor Judy Lazar and Councilman Andy Fox Tuesday night, the council met and worked with a paid facilitator to reach consensus about goals to be reached by the year 2000.

``Goal-setting is not an easy task in any case,'' Lazar said Wednesday. ``And under the circumstances, I think we came up with a good set of goals.''

Councilwoman Linda Parks, who frequently ends up opposite Lazar on 3-2 votes, agreed with the mayor.

``We started out with the goal of reaching 5-0 on every issue,'' Parks said. ``I was very excited and pleased about the process. The facilitator helped us find common ground.''

And though each member came to the meeting with a list of his or her own pet projects, all agreed that the following 10 areas - not listed in order of importance - would be top priorities in the next three years:

Add, improve and finance community sport and recreation facilities. Parks, who has pledged to help the keep the Two Winds Ranch open, called expanding and adding recreational areas a main concern. The Two Winds Ranch is the only horseriding rental business in the city, Parks said.

Develop a plan for the 11-acre parcel next to the Civic Arts Plaza. The council voted down a plan for a 230,000-square-foot entertainment complex at the site earlier this month. Though no council member listed this as a specific goal, four city staffers put the site development at the top of their agendas.

Revitalization of Thousand Oaks Boulevard. Lazar pegged this as one of her top priorities, calling for the creation of a community task force to study the area and propose improvements. And earlier this month, the Chamber of Commerce said it would help form an Independent Economic Development Corporation that could solicit government funding for the project.

Economic development, or aid to businesses. Council members Lazar, Fox, and Markey all listed economic development as a top goal. Suggestions included working closely with the Chamber of Commerce, the Association of Realtors and other business groups to set goals and implement plans.

Ensuring public safety. Parks has argued that the city lacks a mechanism for increasing the number of police as the population increases. She suggested calculating the city's population at build-out and then ensuring that the funding is available to hire additional police.

A resolution to the stalemate over the waste water treatment plant upgrade.

Community outreach, including new methods of communicating with residents about developments, city policies and projects.

Enhancing customer service, including streamlining the development permit process.

Golf courses: improve Los Robles Greens, the city-owned golf course and build a new golf course.

Identify and purchase property that will add to the city's open space. Councilwoman Elois Zeanah said completing the open space ring around the had been a city goal for at least 15 years.

``And some of the properties that would complete the ring have been sold,'' Zeanah added Wednesday. ``We need to allocate funding to buy those properties before more are lost to development.''