ROAD DIVIDES A NEIGHBORHOOD; HOMEOWNERS TAKE UP SIDES ON BORCHARD EXTENSION.Byline: Cecilia Chan Staff Writer Residents of Dos Vientos Ranch are fed up with their neighbors and ready to do battle over the road that was meant to join the two communities but has been tearing tear·ing n. Epiphora. them apart. An invitation has been sent to rally the 210 families in the growing housing community to save their way of life by coming to a private meeting Tuesday to discuss a $661 million lawsuit filed over Borchard Road. The sponsor of the meeting is Dos Vientos Amigos AMIGOS Advanced Mobile Integration in General Operating Systems , a residents group formed by the ranch's principal developer, Arlen Miller, in 1997 to support the planned community Noun 1. planned community - a residential district that is planned for a certain class of residents residential area, residential district, community - a district where people live; occupied primarily by private residences . ``We as homeowners are angry,'' said Irv Gold, who was the third person standing in line to buy a home in the popular community in 1998. ``We've kept quiet all the time and didn't want to start an argument. (But) they are stopping our lifestyle and it's not right.'' Gold is not alone in his anger. He has garnered the support of 100 fellow homeowners who signed a petition delivered to the city protesting the ``nuisance nuisance, in law, an act that, without legal justification, interferes with safety, comfort, or the use of property. A private nuisance (e.g., erecting a wall that shuts off a neighbor's light) is one that affects one or a few persons, while a public nuisance (e.g. lawsuits'' and supporting the timely build-out of Dos Vientos. ``They are angry and in turn they are going to do something about it,'' Gold said. At issue is the steepness of Borchard Road, which is to be one of two main access routes to the 2,350-home community, and is being built at a 12 percent grade that residents at the bottom of the hill say is too dangerous. Road developers Miller Bros BROS Brothers BROS Benefits and Retirement Operations Section (King County, Washington) BROS Barnes and Richmond Operatic Society (London, UK) . and Operating Engineers Operating Engineers are tradepeople who operate machinery. There are two main types of workers that share this title and trade union affiliation (IUOE). The first group are workers who operate steam plants and boilers. have weathered numerous court challenges from the city over the road's grade, which was approved in 1996 but has since been opposed by the City Council. The developers now face a $661 million lawsuit filed by Westlake Village attorney Ed Masry that charges the developers lied about the road's safety to get the council's approval. The lawsuit on behalf of Newbury Park resident Laura Lee Custodio and the environmental group Save Open Space wants the developers to disgorge all profits, estimated at $661 million, to the city. The flier tells homeowners that if Masry's lawsuit is successful in shutting down the road, ongoing development plans for the ranch such as a commercial center could be curtailed and amenities such as parks reduced. ``Do you want to live in a development stalled stall 1 n. 1. A compartment for one domestic animal in a barn or shed. 2. a. A booth, cubicle, or stand used by a vendor, as at a market. b. in midprocess? The threat is very real,'' the flier reads. ``And if residents don't band together and take action, it may soon be too late.'' At the other end are residents such as Diane Smith, who lives in the first house at the base of the hill where the new portion of the road is planned to with existing Borchard Road. With the safety of her two small children in mind, she has disrupted dis·rupt tr.v. dis·rupt·ed, dis·rupt·ing, dis·rupts 1. To throw into confusion or disorder: Protesters disrupted the candidate's speech. 2. her life by attending weekly council meetings to speak out against the road. Smith said she has never objected to an access route for the new homes, but said the road is 140 percent steeper than the city's safety standards Safety standards are standards designed to ensure the safety of products, activities or processes, etc. They may be advisory or compulsory and are normally laid down by an advisory or regulatory body that may be either voluntary or statutory. allow. ``Their safety and our safety are connected by this one road,'' she said. ``They don't want the blood of our children on their hands and we don't want the blood of their children on our hands. It all boils Boils Definition Boils and carbuncles are bacterial infections of hair follicles and surrounding skin that form pustules (small blister-like swellings containing pus) around the follicle. Boils are sometimes called furuncles. down to this road.'' Smith said the road has divided the community but shouldn't. ``We are together on the safety of this road,'' she said. ``It's really us, us.'' Although the City Council approved the developers' request to change the grade on the road from a 5 percent slope to the much steeper 12 percent in 1996, a subsequent council last year sided with critics who say the road as designed is dangerous. However, court action between the city and the developers has favored the developers, who the courts say have the council's permission to build the road. Gold doesn't understand why the opponents can't let the matter rest after the litany litany (lĭt`ənē) [Gr.,=prayer], solemn prayer characterized by varying petitions with set responses. The term is mainly used for Christian forms. Litanies were developed in Christendom for use in processions. of court orders. He said a traffic light at the end of Borchard Road should alleviate concerns of cars flying down the street at excessive speeds. Plus, he said, residents near Borchard Road are concerned about their safety, but who asks about Dos Vientos residents' safety? ``We can't have just one outlet here,'' he said. ``We have to have another outlet. If there is fire, God forbid for·bid tr.v. for·bade or for·bad , for·bid·den or for·bid, for·bid·ding, for·bids 1. To command (someone) not to do something: I forbid you to go. 2. , it would be a real catastrophe.'' Masry, though, said safety is the issue. ``The goal is not to stop the housing development,'' said Masry, who lives in Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. . ``I would like to remind everyone that in 1998, when the developers went before the City Council and were asked how much more money (it would take) to keep it a 5 percent (grade) road, they told the City Council $2 million to $4 million,'' he said. ``Now they are saying it will kill the rest of the development,'' Masry said. ``Nothing these developers say makes any sense.'' Public relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most executive Tom Tomlin, who represents Miller, downplayed Tuesday's meeting as nothing but an informational update for residents. He said homeowners are getting tired of the legal challenges and some have taken action on their own by sending letters to council members, city officials and the newspapers. ``One reason we are doing the meeting is we want to make sure every homeowner has the truth. . .'' Tomlin said. ``They need to hear it from the person who owns the ranch.'' |
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