DREAM OF SCHOOL IN DOUBT : WOOD RANCH BUILDER BALKS OVER ROAD ISSUE.

Byline: Terry Kanakri Daily News Staff Writer

Simi school officials are optimistic that a developer's plan to build 652 homes in Wood Ranch will help them raise money to build a new elementary school in the area.

But the project may have already hit a snag because the developer wants to downsize the planned extension of First Street into Wood Ranch to save money, according to Mayor Greg Stratton.

``I'm not going to be guilty of not having enough farsightedness that may force the city one day to widen the street at taxpayers' expense,'' Stratton said Monday. New Urban West Inc. Vice President Tom Zanic said his company's proposal to make the road four lanes instead of two lanes in one portion is essential to making the project economically viable, however.

``Without the changes, the project would not be feasible because it would be too expensive to build,'' Zanic said.

School board trustee Debbie Sandland said she hopes the city will be open-minded when it reviews New Urban West's applications.

``I don't know why they would consider First Street to be a four-lane highway?'' Sandland said. ``That's pretty much a residential area, and if you look in our residential areas, not many require a four-lane highway. I hope the city will consider the big picture.''

And that big picture involves the district's desperate need for a new elementary school to alleviate overcrowding, she said.

``When the people bought homes in Wood Ranch, the developer had promised them they would have their own neighborhood school, and I feel very strongly that we should fulfill that obligation,'' she said.

New Urban West has filed applications seeking approval of General Plan, Specific Plan, and developer agreement amendments from the city to build homes on 300 acres in Long Canyon.

Once the necessary permits are approved, the Santa Monica-based company plans to buy the land from the school district, and $6.1 million of the cost would be used to build a new Wood Ranch Elementary School to alleviate overcrowding at neighboring Madera Elementary.

Plans for the new elementary school were first delayed in 1993, when the district accepted the land from now defunct Wood Ranch developer Olympia/Roberts Co. in lieu of the company building the new school as originally planned.

In its applications, New Urban West is asking the city to approve modifications to the extension of First Street which should connect with Wood Ranch Parkway, according to the city General Plan.

Zanic said the company wants to build a two-lane road in the eastern part of the extension, and then turn it into a four-lane road leading into Wood Ranch Parkway, but make it narrower to require less pavement.

Zanic said a company traffic study has shown such steps would not have a negative impact on traffic flow, especially since plans to extend First Street to Thousand Oaks have died.

But Stratton, who lives in Wood Ranch's Lake Park neighborhood, said that once the city is built out, about 15,000 vehicles will use First Street per day.

``Based on the data I've seen to date, 15,000 vehicles can't go down a two-lane road,'' he said. ``We have to plan for the future. As a result of that, we'll have to make sure we have the right size road built. Those are all issues that have to be resolved.''

The new elementary school on a nine-acre site on Circle Knoll Drive has been on the drawing board since 1982. The district would like to open the school by the year 2000 to alleviate overcrowding at Madera Elementary, Superintendent Mary Beth Wolford said.

Madera was built in 1966, with a practical capacity to hold 684 students, she said. Today, there are about 720 students enrolled at the school, with an average class size of 30 students per teacher.