Council gives unanimous support to 266-unit development
By Darleen Principe darleen@theacorn.com

After five long years of working with the Simi Valley community, Beverly Hills-based developer Casden Properties, LLC received unanimous approval Monday night from the City Council to build a 266-unit residential development on the last major piece of vacant developable land in the city.

The proposal for L.A.-Madera Village, which calls for a gated two-story residential development to be constructed on the 16.8-acre site east of Madera Road between Los Angeles Avenue and Simi Village Drive, will consist of a combination of for-sale town homes, single-family homes and family flats.

Darren Embry, community relations manager for Casden, told the Simi Valley Acorn this week that getting the final approval was a "big sigh of relief."

"We put a lot of time, energy and funds in the designing of the project up to this point," Embry said. "We're thrilled that we have a partner with the city to be able to continue forward."

Casden first came before the City Council in 2003 but failed to receive preliminary approval primarily because of opposition from neighbors.

The developer received the green light to continue with its application in November 2004, after Casden agreed to make the units for-sale instead of for-rent, set aside 67 of the units for affordable housing and keep the maximum height of the buildings at 35 feet.

Last month, the Simi Valley Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval of the project after adding conditions that Casden provide rodent control during construction and that they help replace a water main off Los Angeles Avenue- in addition to $7-million worth of other public improvements that the developer previously agreed to.

During Monday's two-hour public hearing, more than 15 community members turned up in support of the project. The group included Susan Heck, who in 2003 originally circulated a petition against the development.

No one spoke in opposition, a fact that wasn't lost on the council.

"During my 14 years on the City Council, this is the first time I've seen a project come through without any dissent," Mayor Paul Miller said. "Maybe you guys ought to give seminars."

Project conditions

Before voting, members of the City Council questioned several significant aspects of the project, including the installation of a High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) membrane beneath the development as a waterproofing method dealing with the high groundwater table on the site.

"According to the information that I've found, the guarantee on this membrane from the day that it's laid is two years, which kind of makes me a little uneasy," Councilmember Barbra Williamson said. "I want to be guaranteed that when this membrane is laid, somebody will be there to check it. The way I understand it, most of the tears that happen in this membrane happen during construction."

Ron Loafey, an HDPE expert working with Casden, said that some of the oldest existing membranes have lasted 35 years and have given no indication of failing in the near future.

"It's not inconceivable that, for this particular site and these particular conditions, it could easily last 100 or more years," Loafey said.

To ensure success during the installation of the material, the City Council asked to clarify a condition of the project that would require Casden to pay for a cityappointed inspector to review and inspect all phases of the installation of the membrane.

Peter Lyons, city planner, told the Acorn that some of the other conditions clarified for the project include more stringent landscaping requirements in the event that the project is delayed after construction has commenced, the addition of a lighted street sign at the intersection of McCoy Place and Madera Road, and the relocation or reconstruction of the welcome sign on the northeast corner of Los Angeles Avenue and Madera Road.

Casden will also be required to provide full disclosure to future homeowners of certain units that are within the Bard Reservoir flood inundation area.

"Some of the units within the project will be within that area," Lyons said. "There will be a disclosure for those units, under the highly unlikely chance that the dam will fail."

Embry said the developer has no problem adhering to any of the conditions and that they were "absolutely" fair.

Out of the 266 units, 117 will be built as town homes with private, semi-subterranean garages and stairways that lead directly into the units. Singlefamily attached homes will make up 64 of the units, and 30 family flats and 55 senior flats will make up the remainder. All the units will be for sale.

To address the city's need to provide more workforce housing, 29 town homes, 27 senior flats and 11 family flats- totaling 25 percent of the entire project- will be designated as affordable housing.

Howard Katz, vice president of community development for Casden, said estimated prices for the affordable units will be $190,000 to $208,000, depending on the size of the unit. The sizes range from one-bedroom flats that are 580 square feet to fourbedroom town homes that are 1,840 square feet.

The next step

Embry told the Acorn that Casden has begun taking steps for the design and construction of a 66inch storm drain running for 3,000 feet beneath Los Angeles Avenue and Madera Road- which is part of the developer's $7million public improvements agreement.

Ideally, the construction of the storm drain will be complete in 12 to 18 months. Site construction is planned to commence after that, he said. When asked whether he thinks the project could be negatively impacted by the current housing market crisis, Embry said delaying construction is not part of Casden's plan.

"We can't say that (the housing market) wouldn't affect us," he said. "We can only move forward and keep taking the temperature. But we have a lot of work ahead of us- finishing the design, construction drawings, and the design and construction of the storm drain. There's so much to do and we're just going to put one foot in front of the other and continue moving forward."