Heart has been cut from the city Acorn letter 050114

Heart has been cut from the city

Where's the story?1 Points Mentioned

I was at the City Council meeting April 22 and heard many eloquent speakers expressing outrage at the destruction of the parklike setting at Westlake Plaza.

I was heartened by the large number of people in attendance. I’d like to offer a few additional thoughts.

To the Thousand Oaks City Council: Shame on you for allowing this unique place to be changed forever into nothing special by cutting mature heritage trees.

Shame on you for voting in the developers’ favor in 2010 allowing owner-planted trees to be cut down to make benches so we can sit in the blazing sun of a sterile mall like the generic, contrived “village” malls everywhere else.

Is the city’s bureaucracy so big that you didn’t know the details of a $25-million project working its way through your planning department over a two-year period?

I’d like to know who on the council knew about this project and when. I find it incredulous that no one on the council knew. This is a terrible 50th anniversary gift to the residents of Thousand Oaksand you’ll be remembered forever for your shortsighted, revenue-driven decisions. You might as well have cut the heart from the city.

To Regency Centers: How could you sneak in, with no notification to anyone over the last two years, and decimate beautiful mature trees?

You had a beautiful resource at your disposal and you wasted it. Obviously, you purposely let the whole plaza run down over the past 10 years to justify this massive remodeling; not replacing trees you previously cut down, not spending a nickel to mitigate the overgrown eucalyptus and pine trees, which could’ve easily been trimmed and laced, repaired sidewalks, etc.

Why not build around these magnificent trees, which made Thousand Oaks so special and known worldwide for its trees?

This could’ve been a crown jewel in your portfolio. If you had observed the native habitat advantages and uniqueness this plaza had offered, you would have drawn even more visitors and shoppers.

Instead, you’ve destroyed and are continuing to destroy what made Thousand Oaks special. Steve WatsonThousand Oaks