Home › News › Other News
Simi Valley Planning Commission approves planned 266-unit development
STORY TOOLS 
More from Other NewsThe Simi Valley Planning Commission unanimously recommended moving forward with a 266-unit housing development on the corner of Madera Road and Los Angeles Avenue Wednesday night.
As proposed, the Casden Properties' project would sit on 16 acres and include affordable housing, senior housing, townhomes and two-story single-family triplex homes.
The Planning Commission voted 5-0 in favor of sending the project to the City Council, who will have the final vote.
It is one of the largest housing developments to be taken before the city in recent years, and, if approved by the city council, could be built on the last large piece of commercial land in Simi Valley.
In addition to the commission's full support, about two dozen residents came out in favor of the housing development, which has seen some opposition in the past.
The proposal has been before the City Council in different versions, and in two previous attempts failed to win council approval. But in late 2004, the council voted 4-0 to allow the developer to submit an application that would change the land's use from commercial to high-density residential.
Since then, the developer has held community meetings and has taken the input of the residents, lowering the height of the project to under 35 feet and downsizing from a 354-unit apartment complex that was proposed in 2003.
Posted by meruby on December 20, 2007 at 7:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
So how is the city adjusting for all these new residence in services and schools?
Posted by ender21 on December 20, 2007 at 8:19 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Simi Valley can't even get its act together to prevent annual maintenance on Madera between the 118 and LA Avenue. It seems there is a consistent need to dig up the road and snarl traffic even at normally uncongested times. Now they're going to add 266 homes in the immediate vicinity of a high-volume intersection which will only add to the misery?
Ya gotta hand it to them. Out of one side of their mouth they talk about beautifying the city, and on the other side of their mouth they greenlight an eyesore of a carwarh right next to a storage unit facility, across the street from an aging dump of a KMart parking lot. Now they're packing in the cookie cutter homes into an area already packed with residents while doing nothing to lighten traffic. Anything for a buck I guess.
Posted by caskier on December 20, 2007 at 9:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I was at the planning commission meeting, and it sounds like the people who posted were not – as they are quite uninformed. As a lifelong resident of Simi I have to say this is a remarkable development that will most certainly improve the aesthetics of the area. Only two speakers at the meeting expressed any concerns, and those concerns were specific to drainage. For those of you who weren't there, the miniscule increase in traffic resulting from this project is six times less than if this parcel were to be developed as a commercial site – like it is currently zoned. The developer is paying for street improvements, and some of the units will go to Simi teachers and police officers. It’s a win-win all around!
(Requires free registration.)
Article discussions on this site are to support community debates of issues related to our stories and editorials.
Discussions should not stray from the subject of the story or editorial.
We do not allow the following:
We reserve the right to delete threads and/or ban users for these or other reasons we deem necessary.
Opinions are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.