RANCH PLAN SPURS DEBATE; WORKSHOP TO ROPE IN PUBLIC ON EQUESTRIAN CENTER PROPOSALS.

Byline: Lisa Mascaro Daily News Staff Writer

After a long day leading riders around the bucolic hills or training the horse she hopes to one day show, Jennifer Bielinski spends the early evening the way most folks wind up the day at Two Winds Ranch.

Hanging around, shooting the breeze.

``It's a nice atmosphere here,'' said Bielinski, who has been riding for 10 years. ``People basically like the ranch the way it is right now.''

Plans to create a new, permanent equestrian center on a portion of Broome Ranch in Thousand Oaks are continuing to move forward, with a public workshop today to review three proposals for the new facility.

The proposals are part of a broader debate over the 326-acre portion of the ranch the city jointly purchased with the area's open space agency six years ago, a piece of land environmentalists call the jewel of the east county's remaining open space and others are eyeing for a new golf course.

The equestrian center has been one development for the land most sides agree on. However because it could replace the Two Winds Ranch now temporarily leasing part of the site, residents and horse owners are scrutinizing the proposals to ensure it's a ranch the area can live with.

``We all love that part of Thousand Oaks, the old rural part that's allowed kids to have horses,'' said resident Michelle Koetke, a member of Residents to Preserve Newbury Park.

The city will announce three proposals today for a new equestrian center on a 20-acre portion of the Broome Ranch site, ranging from a smaller, 90-horse center to a 220-head facility.

Among the three plans:

The basic ranch would provide for 90 horses, without facilities for rental horses or for cattle for penning exercises.

The medium ranch would provide for 180 horses, including 25 rental horses and a 20-horse barn. It would also include facilities for 40 head of cattle.

The large ranch would provide for 220 horses, including 100 for boarding, rental horses, a barn and facilities for 40 cattle for penning exercises.

The item will go before the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency on Dec. 9.

``We want to make sure we're on the right track,'' said Mark Towne, COSCA coordinator who is heading up the project. ``We're trying, with this center, to meet local boarders' needs. These are not fluffy plans. These are just the basic improvements.''

The meeting is the third public workshop the city has held on the project which has generated a range of public comment as plans for the equestrian center unfold.

Residents and local equestrian enthusiasts have weighed in on a range of issues they say are important, such as keeping the new center affordable and ensuring that western and English riding facilities are available.

Towne said today's meeting is to draw further comment from residents on the size and operations of the proposed new facility before it heads to the COSCA board for discussion.

``The intention is to meet the locals' boarding needs, not to make it more exclusive,'' he said. ``What we want to do is make sure we haven't missed any elements.''

There has been no price tag set on the costs of developing the new center, and whether the facility would be built by the city or by a private firm.

It is also uncertain if the Two Winds Ranch, whose lease expires in 2000, would continue operating at the new facility. Towne said that if the center is privately run, the city would need to open the bid process to other operators, some of whom have expressed an interest in running the place.

Also to be discussed today are plans for other possible money-making ventures on the site, such as hay rides, dog shows or corporate parties and other special events.

Plans for the equestrian center are part of a broader debate on how to use a 326-acre portion of the ranch the city and COSCA purchased jointly in 1993.

Some factions on the City Council have wanted to use part of the land for a golf course, while some residents and environmentalists have pressed to keep the swath of open space free from development.

The city is in the process of annexing the land and studying uses for it.

The equestrian center is the one development both sides have generally agreed to.

``From Day One, there's always been discussion of an equestrian center at Broome Ranch,'' said Towne. ``I think it's safe to say all parties are anticipating a 20-acre site for an equestrian center somewhere in Broome Ranch.''

Mostly local horse riders and nearby neighbors will be watching to make sure the new center retains the rural charm of the existing ranch they have been enjoying for years.

``We still need ranches out here,'' Bielinski said. ``There's not enough places already.''

But she added, not at the expense of bringing in an equestrian center that wouldn't match the atmosphere the current ranch brings to the landscape.

``I'd like to see what the city's going to do,'' Bielinski said. ``But I like the ranch right now.''

The meeting is scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. in the auditorium at the Goebel Senior Adult Center, 1385 E. Janss Road, Thousand Oaks.