YOUTH MASTER PLAN MAY PACIFY TEENS.

Byline: David Greenberg  Staff Writer

The City Council may follow the lead of four other Ventura County cities on Tuesday by approving a Youth Master Plan as part of its ongoing efforts to keep teens off the streets.

The $30,000 project would be designed and implemented by the Thousand Oaks Youth Commission over the course of a year, adhering to League of California Cities guidelines to assess the needs and concerns of middle and high school students.

``Youth activities are always a high priority in Thousand Oaks,'' Councilman Dan Del Campo said. ``Anything we can do to keep kids safe and sound and off the street is our responsibility as a community. It's so our youth recognize that we care.''

Simi Valley, Ventura, Oxnard and Ojai have already implemented their plans. Westlake Village, in Los Angeles County, has done the same.

Parent groups, student representatives and youth agencies wouldparticipate in monthly workshops help develop the plan, which would benefit law enforcement personnel, planners, recreation officials and youth organizations.

Most of the funds would be earmarked toward hiring an outside youth consultant, as well as conducting a survey among the city's youths and printing the final report.

While its contents are not yet known, city officials said it would likely address a variety of needs, including weekend entertainment options, curtailing drug usage and violence, and recreational activities.

``This is a rare opportunity to go out there and get direct input from this population,'' said Mina Layba, an adviser to the commission. ``Agencies serving that community can use (the report) as a framework for some of the services they provide. There will be demographics in the report. So it also helps with planning in terms of growth.''