VOTE ON HILL CANYON DELAYED; ZONE CHANGE EXPECTED AT NEXT COUNCIL MEETING.

Byline: Cecilia Chan Staff Writer

The City Council is expected next month to initiate a zone change that would preserve Hill Canyon as open space now that a golf-course proposal has been abandoned.

The council voted 4-1 Tuesday to pursue the open-space designation after a heated exchange between council members and Mayor Linda Parks, who wanted to rezone the city-owned Hill Canyon land that night.

``I'm disappointed,'' Parks said. ``I thought we were past this discussion.''

The council asked city staff to determine the appropriate boundaries for open-space zoning that would preclude construction of a golf course.

The golf-course proposal was dropped last week when a joint-powers board composed of City Council members and Conejo Recreation and Park District directors voted 9-1 against it, citing environmental and financial concerns. About $1.7 million had been spent studying whether a public golf course was feasible.

The council also voted unanimously to start dissolving the joint-powers agency that would have run a golf course at Hill Canyon.

Councilman Michael Markey said he supported having city staff review the zoning issue because he had concerns about arbitrarily designating the entire area as open space.

``It's inappropriate for staff not to come back with boundary lines,'' he said. ``Let's do it right and quit playing politics.''

Councilman Andy Fox, who made the motion, said the council and park board's intention is to preserve Hill Canyon from development, and he joined with his peers to vote down Parks' amendment to immediately rezone Hill Canyon as open space.

``Mrs. Parks, you need to slow down in this,'' Fox said. ``I know it's an emotional issue for you. This has to be approached in a reasonable manner.''

Parks said she wanted to ensure that the land will be preserved and suggested that the issue be reconsidered in three weeks.

But Markey and Mayor Pro Tem Dennis Gillette said there was no hurry, because they were committed to the rezoning.

``You are insinuating here something funny is going on,'' Markey said. ``We are all taking exception to that.''

Parks asked her peers to stop labeling her actions as comical, political and emotional.

``Please don't lecture the council,'' Markey responded. ``I will not let you berate me in public. I think you have done enough tonight.''

Although Fox agreed to bring the issue back on Nov. 2, Parks voted no.

Markey then made the motion to table the rest of the agenda except for the consent items because the meeting approached 11 p.m. and too much time had been spent on Hill Canyon.

Parks, however, won support from the council to vote on the joint-powers authority. She said that residents concerned throughout the debate on the golf-course issue were now interested in the outcome of the vote.

``I do want to bring closure to this,'' Parks said. ``We have had hundreds of people here wanting closure to this.''