IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers SHOP HERE—The First Street auto dealerships could become part of an auto mall under a plan being discussed by the city. Part three of a seven-part series

Imagine if the auto dealerships along First Street were relocated to the vacant parcels near Los Alamos Canyon Road and south of the 118 Freeway, creating a new regional auto mall like the one in Simi's neighbor Thousand Oaks.

City officials are determined to study the option as part of the General Plan update.

Yehuda Riess, used car director for the First Auto Group in Simi Valley, said he was excited to hear about the possibility of building a regional auto mall.

"I think it's going to be a great idea," he said. "Better parking for customers, more space for dealerships, it would be concentrated all in one place."

In looking at the West End Specific Plan area, the General Plan Advisory Committee considered two options. Both would make commercial use of the hilly plots south of the landfill owned by Waste Management.

The first alternative suggested turning the vacant properties, which are already designated for office use, into a business park with office, research, light industrial and a limited amount of commercial space—much like what is being considered for the adjacent Easy Street area.

The second alternative suggested using the land for a new regional auto mall, which would have high visibility from the freeway.

Either option would create more jobs and increase activity in the underutilized area, which is bounded by First Street on the east, Oak Park on the west, city limits on the north and the Arroyo Simi, Los Angeles Avenue and Easy Street on the south.

However, while GPAC evaluated the auto mall option, it did not recommend that the City Council and planning commission further study that alternative, preferring the idea of a campusstyle business park.

Karen Thornton, a GPAC member and 37year Simi resident, said committee members thought the cost to move the dealers and build the necessary infrastructure would be too great.

"We'd have to tear out our hills and there's no off-ramp, and it would cost millions and millions of dollars for the auto dealers to move," Thornton said. "And why should they move? It's off in the middle of nowhere, and they would need big incentives to move, which we don't think the city should give them."

Despite GPAC's concerns, the council and commission decided to keep its options open and further study the auto mall alternative.

"The consensus of the GPAC was that it should go business park not auto mall, but the council decided to look at it to see what the best use of that land is," said Paul Drury, deputy director of environmental services for the city. "It doesn't hurt to study it, right?"

According to a staff report, putting a consolidated auto mall on the 115 acres of vacant property would stimulate car sales—which would in turn generate more sales tax revenues for the city—and attract a greater variety of dealerships to the city.

Councilmember Steve Sojka said it makes sense to put auto dealers next to the freeway and that it would be advantageous to have a blank canvas on which to build an auto mall.

"We're running out of places to put other auto dealers," Sojka said. "We want to bring other auto dealerships to our community, and where do you put them?"

In addition, by relocating the current auto sales district, about 30 acres of commercial land would be freed up along First Street, which could allow for the revitalization of the city's blighted Mountain Gate Plaza area, a staff report said.

"If (an auto mall) were to be created, that would empty up the First Street area . . . and you're talking about a major impact on the community," Commissioner Tim Shannon said. "Is it doable? I don't know."

That's the question city staff is left to tackle: Is it realistic and practical to move all the auto dealers to a new location?

Drury said the auto dealers would need funds to build a new dealership, and for that reason some may choose not to move.

"It would be a financial concern of the dealers if they would want to move, because of course they wouldn't be forced to move," Drury said. "It's their decision if something like that was to happen and they would have to see if it is financially feasible for them."

Other major challenges the city would face in building a new auto mall in the proposed location include the site's rolling topography and freeway access, Drury said.

"There is a challenge of grading around the hills, but the other (challenge) is access," he said, noting that it wouldn't do much good if the auto mall were visible from the freeway but people couldn't easily access it via an off-ramp.

Even after considering the financial obstacles, Riess said he was in favor of keeping the car dealership as an option.

"People passing by here are not familiar with the dealerships in Simi Valley," he said. "I think that being on the freeway would generate a lot of business outside of Simi."

To view the full staff report and find more information on the General Plan update, go online to generalplan.simivalley.org.