Rincon Consultants, Inc.
250 East 1st Street, Suite 1400
Los Angeles, California 90012
213-788-4842
w w w. r in co n co nsu ltan ts. co m
January 22, 2024
Scott Kolwitz
City of Thousand Oaks Community Development Department
Planning Division
2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd.
Thousand Oaks, CA 92362
Via email: [email protected]
Subject: Janss Specific Plan – Reasons for Specific Plan Application Dear Scott Kolwitz:
The purpose of this letter is to provide a justification for the submittal of the Janss Specific per the City of Thousand Oaks Specific Plan application requirements.
The Janss Specific Plan area is located on approximately 38.16 acres located at the northwest intersection of West Hillcrest Drive and Moorpark Road in Thousand Oaks, California. The Janss site was originally developed in 1961 and was originally named Village Lane. Janss retains the same name of the founding family of Thousand Oaks, who purchased, planned, and developed the original 10,000 acres of what became the city in the early 1900s. The site has since undergone a series of expansions and renovations and currently consists of 625,348 square feet of retail, restaurant, and entertainment space, related surface parking with landscaping, and a parking structure.
The City of Thousand Oaks City Council adopted a new General Plan and certified a Final EIR for the plan on December 5, 2023. The General Plan land-use designation for the Janss Specific Plan site per the City’s 2045 Thousand Oaks General Plan is Mixed-Use. The Mixed-Use designation allows for multi- story, multi-use infill development in potential growth areas of the City. The intent is to allow for single use retail areas to redevelop with higher intensity uses and to allow for more multi -family residential uses with the City. The designation is intended to allow for a diverse mix of residential and/or commercial uses. Uses may be mixed either vertically or horizontally and single-use buildings (such as residential-only buildings) are allowed. Buildings within this designation will be designed to be walkable with wide sidewalks, active frontages, and minimal setbacks from the back of the sidewalk. Allowable uses include retail, restaurants, entertainment, bars, service commercial uses (such as banks or real estate offices), office buildings, hotels, and multi-family residential buildings. This designation allows for up to 30 dwelling units an acre and a maximum floor area ratio (FAR) of 1.0.
The 2045 Thousand Oaks General Plan also contains area specific guidance policies which require a specific plan to act as the implementing planning document to provide a framework for the development of the Janss property. Specifically, the 2045 General Plan provides:
“Moorpark Road/Janss Marketplace Policies:
16.1 Site planning . Require the preparation of a specific plan or master plan effort for the mixed -use and commercial properties along Moorpark Road and W. Hillcrest Drive and ATTACHMENT #4
Janss Specific Plan
Reason for Application
2 Thousand Oaks Boulevard that comprehensively envisions the future of the area prior to the approval of substantial new development or redevelopment.
16.2 Building heights. Allow building heights of up to 75 feet as specified within a specific plan or zoning height overlay.
16.3 Moorpark Road . Undertake streetscape improvements to slow traffic speeds and create a pedestrian-friendly environment on Moorpark Road between Thousand Oaks Boulevard and just north of Wilbur Road.
16.4 Building setbacks . Amend the zoning regulations to reduce setbacks and parking requirements for buildings along Moorpark Road in order to create a walkable urban streetscape.
16.5 Janss Marketplace . Repurpose the Janss Marketplace to offer a mix of multi -family residential, hotel, entertainment, visitor serving, and commercial uses that result in a destination for residents of Thousand Oaks and the larger region.
The vision of the Janss Specific Plan is to create a Plan that results in the revitalization and redevelopment of vacant and underutilized buildings into a vibrant mixed-use community that provides a high quality and distinctive residential and retail development in a pedestrian friendly environment consistent with the Goals and Policies of the 2045 General Plan. The Janss Specific Plan will include plazas and paseos at the ground -level, pedestrian connections, and other experiences for the community at large. New residential bui ldings will include open spaces to provide residents leisure opportunities not currently found in the existing development, which could include pools, courtyards, roof decks, and other amenities. The Specific Plan area also includes additional entertainment venues, shopping opportunities and is also located in proximity to employment centers, other shopping centers, and bus transit lines.
The proposed Specific Plan would be consistent with the density of the Mixed -Use designation (up to 30 dwelling units an acre and a maximum FAR of 1.0) by allowing 1,144 base dwelling units, 686,438 square feet of non-residential uses and a 216-room hotel.
The Design Guidelines and Standards contained in the Specific Plan ensure that development is cohesive and high -quality, while still allowing future flexibility for creative design on the site. The Development Regulations establish permitted uses, site dev elopment standards, and general development criteria.
The Specific Plan is a tool that implements the applicable goals, objectives, and policies of the 2045 General Plan. The Janss Specific Plan’s vision and goals are based on direction given in the General Plan. The Specific Plan is consistent with and furthers the objectives of the 2045 General Plan by providing detailed criteria for development of specific sites and streetscape improvements within its boundaries. The Janss Specific Plan specifically implements policies requiring a Specific Plan or Master Plan for the project site, creation of a mixed -use project with up to 30 dwelling units an acre and a maximum floor area ratio (FAR) of 1.0, as described above.
The Specific Plan creates a policy document that provides a framework for the allowance of mixed - used, residential uses and redevelopment of existing commercial areas over time within the Janss property consistent with the General Plan and will help facilitate redevelopment of the property. With an approved Specific Plan, the property owners will be able to attract new residential and mixed -use development within the Specific Plan area.
Janss Specific Plan
Reason for Application
3 Sincerely,
Rincon Consultants, Inc.
John Moreland, AICP
Director of Community Planning
Attachments
Figure 1 Specific Plan Location
Janss Specific Plan
Reason for Application
4 Figure 1 Specific Plan Location