Land Shift to Conejo School Control OKd

If a proposed 326-home development between Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks known as Woodridge is ever built, it will fall within the Conejo Valley school system.

That was the decision of a little-known county committee on school district organization, which approved the transfer of a 738-acre swath of land from Simi Valley Unified to the Conejo Valley Unified School District.

“It’s in the best interests of the children to be educated as close to home as possible,” said Sean Corrigan, director of planning and facilities for the Thousand Oaks school system.

The bow tie-shaped piece proposed for development is now open space--part of the buffer between Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley--and is technically not part of either city. However, it falls under Thousand Oaks’ “sphere of influence” and was included in the city’s 1971 General Plan.

The land is close to the Thousand Oaks neighborhoods of Sunset Hills and Lang Ranch, and Simi Valley’s Wood Ranch development. In terms of street access, the land is more closely connected to Thousand Oaks.

Citing access, sphere of influence and common sense, trustees from Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks had previously agreed to the land transfer.

“To even get to Simi Valley from this development, you’d have to drive through Thousand Oaks first,” Corrigan said. “It just makes sense” to transfer the land.

In a unanimous vote, the Ventura County Committee on School District Organization, made up of trustees from across the county, agreed Tuesday night.

Thousand Oaks City Councilwoman Linda Parks has accused the Conejo Valley school district of “jumping the gun” by agreeing to the transfer, noting that the city has not sanctioned the Woodridge development. The city Planning Commission isn’t scheduled to take up the issue until late May or early June.

“What they’re doing is paving the way, so to speak, to make sure they will receive developer fees if the development comes in,” she said. “They don’t need to do this.”

The school district’s action has no bearing on the will of city leaders, Corrigan contends.