MOORPARK : City to Request Post Office Move

The Moorpark City Council voted Tuesday to request that federal officials move the city’s post office to High Street as part of an effort to attract shoppers to the historic district.

The post office was on High Street until several years ago, when it was moved to the Town Center shopping plaza at Moorpark Road and Los Angeles Avenue.

City officials have said that moving the post office back downtown might draw residents to the area’s shops, restaurants and other businesses.

The U.S. Postal Service recently asked the city to recommend which neighborhood should be the site of an expanded facility. Postal officials estimate that within five years the city will need a post office with 22,000 square feet, nearly three times the size of the current facility, spokesman James McCray said.

Also, the new post office will need an outdoor lot of about 76,000 square feet for truck parking and other uses, officials estimate.

After officials select a neighborhood for the post office, they will investigate real estate prices in the area, McCray said.

The post office could be built within five years, he said.

Councilman Scott Montgomery said High Street will become the true center of Moorpark as the city grows. About 5,500 homes are proposed to be built in the hills north of the city.