MOORPARK PROJECT TO GET REVIEW; MEETINGS TO START OCT. 2.

Byline: Gloria Gonzales Daily News Staff Writer

A year after a divided Planning Commission approved the 3,221-home Hidden Creek Ranch development north of Moorpark College, a second round of public meetings on the 4,300-acre project is set to begin.

The City Council will open a series of 10 meetings Oct. 2, with the goal of approving or shelving the project by early next year. Mayor Pat Hunter scheduled the sessions in the hope of breaking the massive project - the draft plan is 2 inches thick - into more manageable parts.

``It will be a much more efficient way to conduct the meetings on a project of this size,'' Hunter said. ``Each meeting will be topic-specific, so at the traffic meeting, city traffic analysts and consultants will be there to provide information and answer questions.''

The meetings also should encourage public participation because they will be shorter and more focused. The sessions will give residents a greater chance to comment about issues that most concern them.

Gary Austin, vice president of Messenger Investment Co., the Irvine company behind the project, will be at most meetings.

``I'm not sure whether there's enough to say on each of these issues,'' said Austin, who has worked on the project since its inception in 1989. ``But in any case, I think it's the right approach to give people every opportunity to voice their concerns. Still, we hope the council will make a final decision by Christmastime.''

The council must vote on the project's environmental impact report by Jan. 23. A vote on the specific project plan could wait until later in 1998.

But for the developers, who bought the property in 1989, one more year isn't too long to wait.

``When we bought the land, there were 14,000 people in Moorpark,'' Austin said. ``Now there are 28,000 people. We've been at it for about eight years, through a General Plan update three or four years ago, and about a year of Planning Commission meetings last year.''

The Planning Commission hearing culminated in a 3-1-1 vote in August 1996. Commissioners Christina May, Barton Miller and John Torres voted for the project, Ernesto Acosta dissented, and Ted Martens abstained because he lives in the Campus Hill area adjacent to the project and wanted to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.

In addition to 3,221 homes, the project includes four ``village'' areas, two golf courses, a high school, elementary schools, a large commercial center and several parks.

Eighty percent of the homes in the four villages will be single-family houses starting in the mid-$200,000s. The remaining 20 percent will be attached and ``affordable'' housing, Austin said.

The meetings will give Austin a chance to inform the public about changes and concessions that have been made to the project since meetings with the Planning Commission.

``There have been mitigations,'' he said. ``The total developed area now embraces a smaller area, with 60 percent of the land left as public, open space. We've also been able to save an additional 400 to 600 trees by moving a few things around.

``We repositioned the school sites based on school district concerns. We've realigned the main access road from Collins along Campus Park East to Spring Road, and we've reduced the size of retail development from 30 acres to 23 acres.''

Austin also said the density of the development and the clustering allow for plenty of open space between neighborhoods, both in the new project and between it and existing neighborhoods.

That is a concern for families living in the Campus Hill neighborhood directly north of Moorpark College, which would border the new development.

``My husband and I were concerned . . . when we first heard it was going to be one house for every four acres. The more houses, the more traffic,'' said Patty Perdigao, whose home would border Hidden Creek Ranch.

``We're both golfers, though, and we'd like it if there was a golf course. But then again, right now, my son can look out his window out at the cows in the pasture. He loves that.''

Other residents are opposed to the development because they believe it would bring too much growth and too many people to Moorpark. According to plans, the company would build about 200 homes per year for the next 15 years, but would begin with a large commercial center at the south entrance to the development, close to the Moorpark College campus. By 2015, the development would have added an additional 10,000 residents to Moorpark.

That number is well within the ceiling of 50,000 set in the city's general plan, but that plan can always bend to the will of the people. And some of those residents would like to see Moorpark retain more of its rural character.

``My concerns are twofold,'' said Bill La Perch, a former Moorpark planning commissioner who lives on a 25-acre ranch north of the city's old downtown.

``First, even if we have a booming economy over the next 10 years, I don't think the city stands to make a profit on this project. Plus, adding commercial development north of the city is like a dagger to the heart of downtown, which is already struggling.

``And second, are we going to destroy what little open space is left in Moorpark - in the county, in fact - are we going to add more pollution, just because a developer wants to build here?

``The city should consider how this development will affect the average resident of Moorpark. Will they be better off? I don't think so.''

HIDDEN CREEK HEARINGS

Public hearings on the Hidden Creek Ranch project specific plan are scheduled through the remainder of 1997. The plan will be discussed in sections listed in the schedule below. More specific schedules for the later meetings will be announced as those dates approach. The meetings and public hearings will likely continue into 1998.

Oct. 1 - City staff members and representatives from Messenger Investment Co. will make a background presentation to the council during its regular Wednesday night meeting. Both staffers and project developers will outline the project and the environmental impact report. The City Council will also vote on the development agreement and forward it to the Planning Commission for a public hearing.

Oct. 8 - The council will hold its first public hearing on the project's environmental impact report, specific plan, General Plan amendment and prezoning plan. The main focus of this special meeting will be on public testimony and discussion of access and traffic issues.

Oct. 22 - Issues from the first public hearing will carry over into this meeting, though the focus will be on the issues of open space, parks and development clusters.

Oct. 27 - The Planning Commission will hold its first public hearing on the development agreement.

Oct. 29 - City Council public hearings continue at this second special meeting. The focus in this session will be on affordable housing, school sites and agricultural land.

Nov. 10 - The Planning Commission will discuss the safety element amendment to the development plan.

Nov. 12 - In this special meeting, the City Council will discuss the specific plan, the General Plan amendment and the prezoning plan.

Dec. 10 - Discussion from the Nov. 12 special meeting continues during this special meeting. The City Council will also hold its first public hearing on the development agreement.

Dec. 17 - Discussion from the Dec. 18 special meeting continues at this regular meeting. The City Council will also hold its first public hearing on the safety element amendment.

CAPTION(S):

map, box

BOX: Hidden Creek hearings (see text)

Map: Hidden Creek