Sierra Club, Indians Sue City Over Development

Environmentalists and Indian activists filed a lawsuit against Thousand Oaks Friday in an attempt to prevent a development on the former MGM Ranch from destroying wetlands, rare plants and ancient Chumash artifacts.

The suit filed in Ventura County Superior Court on behalf of the Sierra Club and the California Indian Council Chumash asks the court to throw out an environmental report on the Rancho Conejo development and to prevent permits from being issued to the developer, Shapell Industries, until a new study is conducted.

Sierra Club attorney Kate M. Neiswender said the two groups decided to sue the city after citing grave inadequacies in the report.

Under a plan the City Council approved April 3, an archeological site considered by the Chumash to be one of the most significant in the Conejo Valley would be bulldozed.

Natural springs and endangered plants would be buried under mountains of dirt to make way for the development, Neiswender said. But federal and state agencies responsible for monitoring the destruction of wetlands and wildlife were not consulted, she said.

“There’s a lot wrong with this environmental report,” Neiswender said. “We’re seeking for the process to be reinitiated for the entire project.”

Shappell’s Rancho Conejo development is one of the largest residential and commercial projects in the city and has been in the planning process for more than a decade.

Shapell’s project calls for the construction of 1,000 houses, 400 apartments and a 102-acre industrial park at the former MGM Ranch north of the Ventura Freeway.

Councilwomen Judy Lazar and Elois Zeanah voted last month against the plan, which they believe would destroy ecologically sensitive canyons in one of the last remaining open spaces in Thousand Oaks.

Tom Maxwell, a Thousand Oaks archeologist and chairman of the Conejo Valley Sierra Club, said environmentalists are concerned that ecological and archeological treasures would be lost forever without a plan to preserve them.

“Our real goal is to save the endangered species, the wetlands and the archeological sites,” Maxwell said. “The prospects look pretty good for overturning the decision.”

Stephen C. Reddy, an attorney for the California Indian Council Chumash, said 26 archeological sites on the MGM Ranch have been destroyed or face destruction under the plan.

One site that would be unearthed to make way for the industrial development “should be preserved. It’s very important,” Reddy said. “It’s about 5,000 to 6,000 years old. We think there’s a burial ground right there or nearby.”

The council has been active in protecting Chumash Indian sites in the Conejo Valley. Three years ago it negotiated with developers of the Lang Ranch housing project to preserve several Chumash Indian sites, Reddy said.

Although Shapell has been willing to negotiate, the city has not, Reddy said, adding, “I think the city’s the problem.”

City officials say they have weighed the benefits of the project and believe the environmental report is fair.

One benefit was Shapell’s contribution of graded sites--at no cost to the city--for a continuation high school, a municipal recycling center and a recreational vehicle storage yard, Mayor Frank Schillo said.

In addition to the graded sites the developer has agreed to donate to the city and the Conejo Valley Unified School District, Shapell has agreed not to develop more than 1,300 acres, Schillo said.

“People are being hooked on the idea that there’s some huge problem out there,” he said. “We have saved 1,300 acres of open space, and that’s dedicated open space.”

The lawsuit could have negative economic consequences for the city if it ties up the project in a lengthy court battle, Schillo said.

Baxter Healthcare Corp., a Deerfield, Ill.-based biomedical firm, announced last month that it plans to move its division headquarters and manufacturing facilities to the proposed Rancho Conejo development.

“It certainly casts a shadow on the entire project. Baxter was eager to come to Thousand Oaks,” he said. “It may be the loss of 700 jobs.”

Schillo said the council is expected to discuss the lawsuit Tuesday during closed session.