One hurdle remains in city’s effort to annex Reagan Library

The city of Simi Valley could be the true home of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library by the end of the year.

With the support of the county and neighboring cities, Simi is on the final step of its application to annex the library and adjacent properties. All that’s left is gaining the approval of the Ventura County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), the boundary agency that handles annexation requests.

The proposed annexation area is in unincorporated Ventura County, just outside city limits but still within the city’s sphere of influence. The 229-acre area includes eight properties—the library, six residential lots and a 68-acre vacant parcel—all of which are designated by the county as open space.

The largest property owner is the Reagan Library, which supports annexation.

The city can pursue annexation because water, sanitation and road maintenance services are already provided to the area by the city. It is the policy of LAFCO that jurisdictional boundaries are logical and that they follow the provision of services.

However, it is also the agency’s policy not to annex land that is within a greenbelt, which is why the city had to secure the approval of Moorpark, Thousand Oaks and the county to first remove the annexation area from the Tierra Rejada Greenbelt.

The 2,650-acre Tierra Rejada Valley is protected by a 26-yearold handshake agreement among the cities and the county that calls for a policy of non-annexation and retention of open space.

Yet, in spite of this agreement, the county has allowed a paintball business, a driving range, a nursery and other development in the area.

For this reason, the Thousand Oaks City Council voted 4-0 at its Oct. 13 meeting to approve Simi’s request to remove the proposed annexation area from the greenbelt.

“It’s a travesty to the concept of open space and I thoroughly believe that a municipality, the city of Simi Valley . . . is a better steward,” said T.O. Councilmember Dennis Gillette.

Last week, the Moorpark City Council agreed with this assessment and also granted the city’s request. However, its endorsement excludes the 68-acre undeveloped parcel that, unlike the other seven properties, doesn’t receive municipal services from the city.

Moorpark’s exclusion of the property was made in response to concerns from open space advocates who say the vacant site should stay out of city limits.

Moorpark Mayor Janice Parvin, who is a member of LAFCO, said the undeveloped property was included in the annexation application because the commission seeks to form continuous boundaries when it redraws city limits.

If the parcel were removed from the annexation area, it would form a county peninsula into the city, something that LAFCO would not normally allow.

The County Board of Supervisors has also expressed its support for annexation without the undeveloped parcel, though it will not formally approve an amendment to the greenbelt agreement until Tuesday.

Simi Valley City Manager Mike Sedell said that if the commission opted to exclude the 68acre parcel, the city would be fine with that decision.

Sedell said he understands the desire of Moorpark and the county to make sure the land is as protected as possible, saying that’s what Simi wants too. He added that under the Save Open space and Agricultural Resources (SOAR) initiative, a request to change the zoning to any density higher than one home per 40 acres would have to go to a vote of the people.

But some are concerned that this could change if the SOAR initiative isn’t renewed after it expires in 2020, and they believe the land would best be protected from development if it stayed within the greenbelt.

Sedell said Simi Valley expects a positive response from LAFCO since it was the one to approve bringing the 229-acre area into the city’s sphere of influence two years ago—the first step toward annexation. He just doesn’t know what the commission will decide regarding the 68acre undeveloped property.

“We’re okay whatever goal they choose to go with because either way, it will protect that land,” Sedell said.

LAFCO will consider the annexation at its Wed., Nov. 18 meeting. The public hearing will begin at 9 a.m. in the Board of Supervisors hearing room at the county government center, 800 S. Victoria Ave. in Ventura.