Colton-Lee/Gorian-Sinay Re-zoning Application.

The Heart of the Appilcation: Colton-Lee/Gorian-Sinay wants to build the megaplex of apartment complexes (see their site plan) at the western intersection of the Southern Pacific railroad tracks and Kathrine Drive. In order to accomplish this they have to convince the Ventura County Board of Supervisors to ignore the county's own Guidelines for Orderly Development and allow Colton-Lee/Gorian-Sinay to change the zoning from 2 Dwelling Units per Acre (DUA) to 12 Dwelling Units per Acre or more-- an astronomical increase of 600%. Hard to imagine? See these photos and imagine it for yourself. Mr. Gorian's argument to justify the exorbitant increase in dwelling units per acre is that the street adjacent to the proposed complex has 8 dwelling units per acre for about two blocks along Peppertree Rd. -- the result of a previous re-zoning shortsightedness. In the eyes of most residents of eastern Simi Valley this is a flimsy argument at best. These two blocks represent less than 2% of the entire Santa Susana Knolls area and its immediate environs.

The Supervisors Meet: Of the five Ventura County Board of Supervisors during their 7/20/04 meeting, two of them are pro-growth (read pro-development), two find the Colton-Lee/Gorian-Sinay plan a prime example of urban sprawl and a violation of the county's Guidelines for Orderly Development, and the fifth supervisor seems very detached from the reality of this situation and believes that the Colton-Lee/Gorian-Sinay project will provide workforce housing, although the project site is miles from any established agricultural fields or large places of employment. That is our quick summation of the Ventura County Board of Supervisors comments in justifcation for the the way they voted on 7/20/04 in approving the Colton-Lee/Gorian-Sinay pre-screening application.

Read their comments for yourself or see the video of the 3.5 hour meeting of 7/20/04.

NOTE: In order to see the video you will need to have the Windows Media Player plug-in for your computer and browser.

The Fragile Intersection: It is hard to imagine a more fragile intersection than the western intersection of the Southern Pacific railroad tracks and Kathrine Drive. 20 to 30 trains pass that point everyday and in the period of Feb to April 2005, two trains have stalled on the intersection crossing for 2 hours or more.

High Density: High Profits for Mr. Gorian and Colton-Lee, Tax Woes for the County.