Woodridge Developer Asks School Officials to Drop Boundary Plan

THOUSAND OAKS â€”  Hoping to defuse an escalating community feud, a Los Angeles-based developer on Friday asked the school district to drop a plan that would send children from the proposed Woodridge subdivision to the city’s newest school.

The planned boundaries for Lang Ranch Elementary School have outraged families living nearby and prompted City Council members to consider withholding approval for the new housing tract.

Those families would continue to drive their children to schools across California 23, while newcomers in the Woodridge development would send their children to the new Lang Ranch school.

In a letter to the Conejo Valley Unified School District on Friday, developer Michael Rosenfeld urged officials to let families already living in the neighborhood go to Lang Ranch Elementary.

When they get here, families in Woodridge can go to other elementary schools, the developer said.

“We want to resolve any controversy,� Rosenfeld said in an interview. “It’s a gesture of goodwill. We want to be a welcome member of the community.�

His move came just a day after City Councilman Andy Fox--initially a strong proponent of the Woodridge development--said he wanted to “stop the project in its tracks� until the school controversy is resolved.

On Tuesday night, council members are scheduled to vote on items that would allow Woodridge Associates to obtain permits needed to build the upscale, 252-home subdivision near the Simi Valley border. Rosenfeld said he hopes the school controversy will be cleared up by Tuesday and the development will move ahead.

“Woodridge was not involved in the drawing of school district boundaries--that’s a school district function,� Rosenfeld added. “We’re not interested in being perceived as dislocating children. These people are here and now. The Woodridge children are forthcoming.�

The developer said that Woodridge children could attend any one of numerous area elementary schools, such as Ladera, Weathersfield or Park Oaks.

Conejo Valley School District Assistant Supt. Gary Mortimer did not return calls late Friday afternoon.

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But on Thursday he told The Times that even if the 80 children the Woodridge development is expected to bring did not attend Lang Ranch, there still would not be room to accommodate the 200 children excluded in the district’s boundary map.

There are several other housing developments whose children are likely to attend the new school, he said.

“The Woodridge kids are just one part of a larger picture,� he said.

Fox was unavailable for comment Friday. He and Mayor Mike Markey, along with Councilwoman Judy Lazar, have supported the proposed subdivision.

But with the school controversy building, Markey has joined Fox in the attempt to block the project.

Markey said Friday he was unaware of the developer’s latest request, but that he would continue to back parents already living here who want their children to go to Lang Ranch Elementary.

“I think what everyone is saying is logical--we’re already here, don’t push us aside,� Markey said.

But Markey said the decision about which children will go to the school rests with the school district.

“We can’t tell the school district what to do. It’s another governmental agency,� he said. “But we can . . . delay the development.�

Councilwoman Linda Parks said the developer’s proposal will cause other problems. Parks--a Woodridge opponent from the start --said that children in the new subdivision would have to be bused to other schools far away, possibly crowding those schools.

“I’d like to stay with the idea of neighborhood schools,� Parks said. “This is not a decision that’s up to the developer. It’s up to the school board.�

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The slow-growth councilwoman said the elementary school controversy could have been prevented with community planning.

Parks suggested that Thousand Oaks pass a measure similar to one recently approved in Ventura.

The amendment to Ventura’s Comprehensive Plan, or growth blueprint, stipulates that city council members must take issues such as school crowding into consideration when weighing housing proposals. School and city officials are to meet regularly to anticipate problems that new developments might pose for schools.

Parks wants Thousand Oaks council members and school officials to take a similar approach.

“We’re going to have this come up again, I’m sure,� Parks said.

Developer Rosenfeld, meanwhile, said that his firm has agreed to pay the school district $2 million to accommodate the Woodridge students, and those children need not go to Lang Ranch for their education.

“Woodridge is well aware of the high level of education that is provided by the Conejo Unified School District, and looks forward to placement in any of the local area schools . . .,� the letter states.