Oaks Christian adding new middle school

Middle school students at Oaks Christian School in Westlake Village will be receiving new classrooms following a decision last week by the Westlake Village City Council.

The city approved a zoning change to allow the private school to occupy an existing 71,000square-foot building in a business park zone at 313829 La Tienda Road. The 6.5-acre property sits adjacent to Oaks Christian and is currently occupied by Condor Pacific Industries of California.

About 300 students in grades six through eight will transfer to the new site from the existing campus. Middle school enrollment could eventually grow to 500, according to Tom Konjoyan, vice president of development.

The school's overall enrollment is expected to increase from 1,200 to 1,500, Konjoyan said.

The building will be adapted to include classrooms, a multipurpose room, science labs, a lunch room and administrative offices.

A portion of the existing parking area will be converted to play areas that include sport courts and artificial turf ballfields. The athletic facilities will be lit and probably be made available to the community after school hours, similar to an arrangement with existing fields.

"From the school's perspective, we've been delighted to make the facility available to the community. Kids are coming onto the property and seeing the school facility," Konjoyan said.

The anticipated student body growth will increase the Oaks Christian demand for teams and fields, Konjoyan said. A possible agreement will be discussed to allow the school to use the fields at a 30-acre joint YMCA/city park being planned off Thousand Oaks Boulevard between La Baya Drive and Lindero Canyon Road.

"That park would sit fallow for most of the school day. The school use would help us defray the cost," City Manager Ray Taylor said.

Although it called the school "a good neighbor," the City Council had two concerns with the middle school expansion- a proposed 12-foot soundwall and the possibility of increased traffic at the intersection of Lindero Canyon Drive and Via Colinas.

A traffic study conducted by the city found that although the number of vehicles traveling to the school would increase, especially in the morning, the surge would be offset by the elimination of the office traffic.

To help the traffic situation, Konjoyan said the school will consider an increase in carpools and bus transportation and look at the staggering of school hours.

Oaks Christian expects to provide additional bus routes, especially since an increasing number of students are enrolling from Malibu and the San Fernando Valley, Konjoyan added.

Regarding the soundwall, Councilmember Bob Slavin asked that the wall be screened with landscaping if it is visible from the public right of way. The council approved the motion.

"There is some mitigation in having a middle school here rather than a commercial use and that's a good thing," Slavin said. "If there are problems we can deal with them."

The new building will have one entrance and one exit. A pedestrian bridge over a flood control wash will link the property with the existing campus.