Homeowners’ group is waiting, they say, for the YMCA
By Michael Picarella
Acorn Staff Writer

In response to the Triunfo YMCA wanting to move as quickly as possible on a land swap deal with Westlake Canyon Oaks Home-owners’ Association (HOA) to enable a new facility to be built, HOA president Scott Yanke said they’re waiting on the Y.

After numerous propositions and meetings between the two groups, a deal still hasn’t been made. Yanke said the HOA made the last move by asking the YMCA to explain under their letterhead a proposal of what they want to build and how much land they need to build it. That was almost four weeks ago and there’s been no response, Yanke said.

Triunfo YMCA wants to build a new 31,000 square-foot, two-story facility. Original plans had the facility on a 7.3-acre parcel of land known as Lot 80 on the eastside of Lindero Canyon Road about 1,000 feet north of its intersection with Thousand Oaks Boulevard. The YMCA owns Lot 80.

Westlake Canyon Oaks residents don’t like the choice of location because of its proximity to their homes. Traffic and noise would be unbearable, they said, fearing also that property values would diminish from a YMCA at Lot 80. Homeowners wanted the facility located somewhere else so that Lot 80 could be designated as permanent open space.

The land swap deal has been negotiated for almost a year. The HOA is working with the YMCA to swap Lot 80 with a 55-acre parcel of land owned by the HOA called Lot 77 that’s on Thousand Oaks Boulevard and La Baya Drive. Lot 77 is much bigger than Lot 80, but according to Triunfo YMCA director Tyler Wright, Lot 80 is more valuable.

Wright also said Lot 77 would cost more for construction. Due to the contour of the land, the grading would be extensive, he said.

"(The YMCA) never clearly stated how much (land) they needed," Yanke said. At first they wanted to build on Lot 80, which is only 7.3 acres of land and once the larger Lot 77 was brought into the picture, the YMCA then said they needed 40 acres to build the new facility.

Yanke said the YMCA included ballfields as part of its project.

If the YMCA is built on Lot 77, Wright said, they’d have to split the parcel in half. The dirt graded for the structure would create a raised parcel of land that the city could take over to construct build ballfields. The play fields, Wright said, would belong to the city and not the YMCA.

If the YMCA didn’t have 31 acres, Wright said, they wouldn’t be able to move the dirt to the second half of the parcel. They’d have to transport the soil somewhere else, he said, which would be cost prohibitive.

"We’ve tried to be as cooperative as we can," Yanke said. "We’re willing to deal with (the YMCA). But we want to make sure the facts are out there, so people can make an educated decision." Trading away 55 acres of land for 7.3 acres is a big deal, he said.

"We’re just regular hard-working folks here," Yanke said, "not lawyers. I would vote for the land swap, but it should be up to the homeowners."

Yanke said that when he gets the YMCA proposal, he’ll forward it to the homeowners so they can decide.