Several residents came to the City Council meeting Monday night to speak out against a preliminary proposal to build 17 single-family homes off of Covington Avenue on land that is mostly designated open space.

Monday's public hearing was set to consider the project applicant's request for a General Plan amendment pre-screening, since the development would require changing the current landuse designations from open space/ residential low and medium to residential estate and residential medium.

The 26.2acre site is in southern Simi on the east side of Covington Avenue, north of Rudolph Drive, on property owned by the Heyneman family. Sitting just south of Hillside Junior High, the project site is mostly surrounded by single-family residences.

Though the project would be consistent with other uses in the area, the council voted 4-1 to deny the pre-screening request, directing that the proposal become part of the city's General Plan update process.

"We have very little land left in our city, and we owe it to ourselves to examine that land for what the best use is for the city," Mayor Paul Miller said.

Councilmember Michelle Foster cast the dissenting vote, citing fairness issues.

The rest of the council said that because the project would be considered infill development and the land is currently zoned as open space, the proposal should be looked at along with the other areas already being studied as part of the General Plan update.

They also questioned the applicant's rush to start the process given the state of the economy and real estate market.

City staff and the applicant, Chuck Stapholz, acknowledged that the homes would not be built until at least 2010 or later.

Still, Foster said she thought it unfair to ask a developer to wait until the General Plan update is complete just because the economy is in a slump. The update isn't scheduled to be finished until sometime in 2010.

"That's his financial risk that we should stay out of," she said.

Although a pre-screening is one of the earliest stages of a project proposal, homeowners living on or near Covington Avenue and Rudolph Drive filled the council chambers Monday to make sure their side was heard.

Many residents expressed concerns about increased traffic, noise and fire safety issues, as well as how long construction would last if the project was approved.

"The traffic is unbelievable now on Covington," said Summer Tree Court resident Lou Hillenbrand. "I would absolutely stand behind the City Council putting in some speed bumps there . . . before someone gets hurt."

The biggest issue with residents, however, was the potential loss of their view.

Tim Dickison, who lives south of the project site, said he bought his home for its elevated view.

"I don't want it to be encumbered with a bunch of homes," he said. "It just seems like it would bring the value of my home down to have all those homes there."

He added that 17 homes would be "overbuilt" on the 6-acre parcel the applicant plans to put them. "The houses look great, but it's just too many of them," Dickison said.

Resident Jodelle Haws agreed, saying she did not want to see a big development across the street from her home.

"I'm concerned about the ridgeline off of Rudolph," she said. "I'm concerned that that open space would no longer be open space."

City staff and Stapholz said most of the development, tentatively called Richwood Estates, would be hidden from view as it is set in a ravine. "There really is sort of a bowl here that protects the view from all the homes that we're proposing," Stapholz said. "This is a very protected enclave of homes."

He added that the only change most residents would see is an extra house on a ridge.

In an attempt to allay neighbors' fears, Councilmember Steve Sojka assured residents that the council is "not in the business of changing open space for the benefit of the pocketbook of a developer" but that there are development and property rights to consider.