With the City Council's four other members divided on the is- sue, the fate of a proposed as- sisted-living facility for seniors on Tierra Rejada Road rested in the hands of Simi Valley Mayor Paul Miller.

And in the end, the mayor sided with the more than 30 Simi resi- dents who showed up at Monday's council meeting to oppose the project, insisting that the applicant simply hadn't done enough to ad- dress the concerns of neighbors of the proposed 94-bed facility.

"From the beginning this project has been contentious. There has been a lack of communication be- tween the residents and the devel- oper," Miller said. "To ram this down the throat of residents isn't right, so I don't support it."

But rather than reject the project outright-which it could have done with a 3-2 vote- the council decided to delay voting on the matter, putting it off to an un- determined date to give the two sides more time to work together.

Roger Green, a development officer for Sunrise, was asked whether his company was willing to continue working toward find- ing common ground with Southcrest and Friendly Village residents whose concerns cen- tered around increased traffic and lack of parking at the proposed 1.7-acre facility.

"We'd prefer not to see the project killed," Green said, add- ing, "We will continue to work with the neighbors to see if we can come up with a compromise."

Sunrise came into the evening having agreed to construct a sec- ondary access and install a tot-lot, fulfilling two requests the coun- cil made at the end of its June 5 meeting.

The decision came down at around 10 p.m., after more than two hours of public discussion on the matter and a 15-minute council recess. Afterwards, Simi residents and Sunrise employees congregated outside council chambers, a sign that the project, which has been before the panel since 2003, might still have a chance.

Miller remained optimistic.

"In the past, I have seen projects that start out with a lot of dissent, and by the time they come before the council, there are more supporters than people who are opposed to it," he said, "this project is not dead."

Council members Steve Sojka and Michelle Foster both gave their approval to the project after hearing both sides, saying the potential impact on residents did not outweigh the potential benefit to a community with more than 8,500 residents over the age of 65.

"I think we've gotten a great project because of the dialogue over the last two or three years," Sojka said.

Foster agreed.

"It's not arguable that we need this kind of facility in our community," she said.

Despite concerns from resi- dents that the facility might change ownership in the future, as Sunrise facilities often do, Foster said the more than 125 stipulations included in the city's proposed conditional use permit made her feel comfort- able enough to give the project the go-ahead.

"I don't know if it's the busi- ness of the city who the owners of the property are as long as they are providing the same ser- vice," she said. "I think we've got them pretty well nailed down."

As satisfied residents poured out of city hall, knowing they had affected the council's deci- sion, the mayor had some final words for them.

"That property at some point will be developed," Miller said.