Come January, the 1,500 east county couples planning to wed each year won't have to travel 80 miles round trip to pick up their marriage licenses.

The County Clerk and Recorder plans to open a new satellite office in Simi Valley, complete with a wedding room and waiting area for families and friends.

"That will be a big plus," said Kay Graves, owner of Kay's Bridal Outlet in Simi Valley. "People now have to travel all the way to Ventura to the county building; this will be great."

The new satellite office, scheduled to open Jan. 7, will occupy about a third of 8,000 square feet of county-owned space in the Simi Valley courthouse, said Assistant County Clerk and Recorder Jim Becker. The office will include a front counter and self-help room with computer terminals so people can search through deeds, voter registration databases and other official documents.

"More county services in east county has been a big need for a long time," Becker said.

Since 2000, Moorpark's population has risen 15 percent, putting the city alongside Camarillo as the fastest growing in the county.

During the same period, the number of Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks residents rose 12 percent and 9 percent, respectively. Both cities now surpass Ventura in population.

Becker estimates 35 percent of the Clerk and Recorder's 50,000 annual customers live in Moorpark, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Westlake Village and Newbury Park. All have to travel to the Ventura County Government Center to record a deed, search through property records or file legal documents.

'Overall cost and savings'

The move is part of a push by Supervisor Peter Foy, who says east county constituents are getting short-changed when it comes to access to county services. "We pay 50 percent of the taxes; we should have the services here," Foy said.

The freshman supervisor said he has asked the assessor, tax collector and district attorney to study opening satellite offices similar to the Clerk and Recorder's. Ideas so far include the assessor and treasurer-tax collector sharing the courthouse space with the Clerk and Recorder, he said.

"We want to ensure we're not spending a whole lot of extra money on this, so we're looking at the overall cost and savings," said Foy, whose district includes Simi Valley and Moorpark.

"For instance, how many trips on the road are we saving? How many employees live in the east and work here? Will the move bring in more money for the county?"

About $140,000 will be spent opening the new Clerk and Recorder site, but that's a one-time cost, Becker said.

"Once the office opens and the public is aware of the services provided, we will have a lot more business," Becker said. "We also think people from Los Angeles County will start coming to get married there because it will be closer. That's extra income for the county."

Hopes for an annex

Since July, marriage license fees have brought in $336,000.

Foy hopes an annex of county services will eventually be established in a central location, possibly near the sheriff's Thousand Oaks office on Olsen Road.

The building would include his office and that of Supervisor Linda Parks, whose district includes Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village and Newbury Park.

While the annex is on the county's long term capital projects list, several others are first in line, said Marty Robinson, chief deputy executive officer.

They include building a new jail, installing a new computer system for taxes, constructing an ambulatory clinic next to the Ventura County Medical Center and retrofitting the hospital to withstand earthquakes.