TO:Andrew P. Powers, City Manager
FROM:Akbar Alikhan, Deputy City Manager
DATE:June 24, 2025
SUBJECT: Downtown Thousand Oaks Project (CI 5540) – City Council Workshop #2
RECOMMENDATION:
1. Provide feedback on the proposed program for the Downtown Project in preparation for entitlement submittal.
2. Authorize City Manager to commence discussions with taxing entities regarding possible participation in tax-increment financing.
3. Direct staff to return to City Council with initiation of the requisite Specific Plan and General Plan amendments.
4. Direct staff to return to City Council with additional declaration of surplus lands to reflect updated Downtown program.
5. Find that this action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guideline Section 15061(b)(3).
LEVINE ACT ITEM: No
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
No Additional Funding Requested. Minimal staff time and costs to prepare this report are included in the Adopted FY 2024-25 General Fund Budget. The Project is currently in preliminary design and the Adopted CIP Budget includes funding for anticipated design costs over the upcoming two fiscal years. The Project will be brought before City Council at a future date for a design contract.
BACKGROUND:
Since its adoption on June 5, 2018, the Downtown Core Master Plan (DCMP) established a vision for the downtown core and identified the initiatives the City should pursue to create an active, pedestrian-friendly area. Over the past several
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years, advancing the creation of a Thousand Oaks Downtown has consistently been one of City Council’s Top 10 Priorities, including for FY 2025-26.
On December 3, 2024, RRM, in partnership with SmithGroup, was awarded an agreement to complete preliminary design of the Downtown Project, building upon the foundation established by previous iterations of the Project. Additionally, HR&A Financial Consultants were retained for financial planning and public-private- partnership (P3) advisory services.
The scope of work identified in the agreement with RRM contained several opportunities for community engagement, bi-monthly discussions with the Ad Hoc Committee, and two City Council workshops. The first City Council workshop was held on May 20, 2025, and discussed the five key changes from the 2024 Concept to the current 2025 Design, a summary of the feedback from the various community conversations held, and an introduction of potential funding options for the Downtown Project.
Additionally, City Council authorized the City Manager to explore options for disposition of 401/403 Hillcrest Drive to Conejo Recreation and Park District (CRPD). Subsequently, the CRPD Board authorized its General Manager to explore options for acquisition of the site at its June 5, 2025, Board Meeting. Staff anticipates returning to City Council with proposed terms of disposition at a future date.
This second City Council Workshop will focus on the updated visuals of the 2025 Design, continuation of the funding strategies available, and additional actions City Council will need to initiate to prepare the Downtown Project for submittal. Pending City Council direction, the Downtown Project is slated to be submitted for planning and environmental review in July 2025.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS:
Program
The program outlined below has been informed by robust community input, economic and retail consultants, ongoing direction from the Ad Hoc Committee, the 2018 DCMP, and City Council’s longstanding housing production goals. The values shown represent what will be evaluated under CEQA, which establishes a ceiling for the program, but the ultimate quantities may differ slightly based on constructability, market conditions, and development partners.
The Downtown Project (Attachment #1) consists of four mixed-use residential buildings (Buildings A, B1, B2, and C), a standalone restaurant (Building D), adaptive reuse of the western portion of the existing City Hall (Building E), targeted Downtown Thousand Oaks Project (CI 5540) – Workshop #2
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reconstruction of the eastern portion of City Hall (Building F), a small bandshell structure and stage (Building G), and a 142-room hotel (Building H) with rooftop deck. Additionally, the program includes a variety of outdoor spaces such as an outdoor amphitheater, a pedestrian-only Main Street, adjacent park area, and a town square with a children’s play area and splash pad. While no improvements to the interior of the Scherr Forum or Kavli Theatre are proposed as part of the Downtown Project, there are improvements to the exterior, circulation, and site amenities that will benefit the theaters.
Including both the adaptively reused and newly constructed portions, the Downtown Project contains approximately 80,000 square feet of commercial square footage and 80,000 square feet of City office space. The area of the Downtown Project proposed for mixed-use development is approximately 5.3 acres, primarily located on the Westside Parcel. Based on the mixed-use designation of 30 dwelling units per acre, yielding a base density of 160 units for the mixed-use portion of the Downtown Project. Per the requirements of the Surplus Land Act (SLA), the Downtown Project would also qualify for additional residential units under the State Density Bonus Law.
Per the SLA, 15 percent of the total residential units constructed as part of the Downtown Project must be designated as affordable to lower-income households.
It is important to note that affordability rates for most private developer projects are calculated per the requirements of the State Density Bonus Law (SDBL). SDBL calculates the percentage of affordable units from the “base density,” which, in this case, equates to 22.5 percent of base units being designated as affordable. This distinction between total units and base number of units yields 50 percent more affordable units in the program. Furthermore, the requirements of SLA exceed that of the City’s 10 percent inclusionary housing requirement, which is also based on the maximum “base density” allowed (30 dwelling units per acre). A comparison of the three affordability methodologies is shown below.
Statute/Ordinance Affordable (%)
City Inclusionary Housing Ordinance 10% of Base Density State Density Bonus Law 15% of Base Density
Surplus Lands Act 15% of Total Units Constructed
It is important to note that there are several possible combinations of unit mixes to be eligible for density bonus, while still maintaining compliance with SLA. Each of these combinations affect the total unit count and the number of affordable units.
Staff recommends maintaining flexibility on the exact affordability mix, provided it meets all SDBL and SLA requirements, to promote marketability and feasibility of the Downtown Project for potential development partners.
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Architectural Style & Materiality
During the five Community Conversations held in January and February 2025, the design team garnered input from residents on preferred materials and architectural direction. Some of the feedback included a desire for:
•Strong and seamless connections between the indoors and outdoors •Use of durable and natural stones/materials
•Generous use of glass to showcase the natural landscape of the site •Timeless architectural style that will stay relevant
•Connection to Thousand Oaks and the region
In light of the feedback, the design team suggested a mid-century / Southern California regional modernism design aesthetic to best meet the criteria communicated during the Community Conversations.
Throughout the program, each building borrows mid-century design elements of varying degrees while still feeling distinctly separate. For example, the restaurant (Building D), bandshell (Building G), and hotel (Building H), contain cantilevered overhangs that form the roofline. The facades of the adaptively reused portion (Building E) and the reconstructed portion (Building F) of City Hall are defined primarily by glass, creating literal transparency through the building. The hotel (Building H) and mixed-use buildings (Buildings B1, B2, and C) prominently make use of natural wood materials. There are several more examples of the architectural theme being expressed throughout the site, while still allowing room for each portion of the program to maintain its own identity.
Tax Increment Financing
At the first City Council Workshop, HR&A Financial Consultants presented a variety of funding options for the Downtown Project. One of the key funding strategies discussed was the potential use of tax increment financing (TIF).
A TIF is typically arranged through an Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District (EIFD) or Climate Resiliency District (CRD), whereby property tax revenues from a designated project area would be frozen at a “base level” and additional tax revenue in future years (“tax increment”) would be diverted to fund project improvements or pay debt service on bonds issued by the EIFD. EIFDs work similar to former redevelopment agencies, however, school districts are not allowed to participate while other taxing entities can voluntarily join the EIFD.
While many of the funding components are within City Council’s authority to exercise, the use of TIF will require the approval of the fellow taxing entities that choose to participate. Of the agencies allowed to participate in TIF, the County of Ventura receives the largest share of the ad valorem property tax via the general County allocation and Ventura County Fire Protection District.
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Absent the County’s participation in TIF through an EIFD or CRD, the Downtown Project will need to occur in multiple phases. The County’s participation in a TIF would likely shorten the timeframe for completion of the Downtown Project.
Recommendation #2 authorizes the City Manager to commence discussions with taxing entities regarding possible participation in tax-increment financing.
Initiations of General Plan and Specific Plan Amendments As part of the entitlement process, the Downtown Project will require amendments to Specific Plan 11 (Civic Arts Plaza Specific Plan Area) and the General Plan to address the underlying land use designations. Pending City Council direction, staff will prepare initiations of the requisite amendments for City Council consideration at the July 8, 2025, meeting, as indicated in Recommendation #3. The action at the July 8 City Council Meeting would only be to initiate the requisite amendments, however, the actual amendments would ultimately be considered along with the entitlement package during public hearings for the Downtown Project in 2026.
Surplus Land Act
On June 18, 2024, City Council authorized the notice of land considered public surplus at the Westside parcel (Attachment #2) and the City issued the required 60-Day notice, in compliance with the SLA. Notices of availability were sent to all applicable agencies on July 2, 2024, and no formal requests to negotiate were received. The parcels previously made available for surplus were reflective of the City Council-endorsed 2024 conceptual site plan.
The updated 2025 site plan will require the City to list additional areas available for surplus, in compliance with SLA due to the changes in the proposed program. The additional SLA areas are the result of introducing a new mixed-use Building C and the hotel, which were previously earmarked for institutional use. The size of Building D as currently designed is below the exemption threshold established by SLA and will not be required to be advertised as available for surplus.
Recommendation #4 directs staff to return to City Council with the required declaration of surplus lands to reflect the 2025 site plan.
Community Engagement & Next Steps
The visuals prepared for City Council Workshop #2 have been posted on the project website at www.toaks.gov/downtown. Additionally, City staff hosted a public open house on June 18 in the Scherr Forum to share the updated visuals.
Residents who attended any of the five Community Conversations and the City’s social media following were notified of the Open House event and the City Council Workshop.
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Should City Council approve staff and the Ad Hoc Committee’s recommendation, staff will return at the July 8, 2025, City Council Meeting for consideration of the initiations of the General Plan and Specific Plan amendments and additional surplus land declarations.
Top Ten Council Priorities FY 2025-26
The recommended City Council action and staff efforts are in alignment with one of City Council’s top ten priorities – Contemplate funding strategies for project design and construction and provide direction | Consider key design and engineering decisions for phased development of Downtown Project | Consider targeted alterations to Thousand Oaks Boulevard within the downtown core | Complete environmental review and prepare for public hearing | Continue robust ongoing community engagement.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The recommended action seeks feedback from City Council that will direct staff to take additional steps in preparing plans and specifications for a future project for consideration at a later date. The action will not create any direct or indirect impact on the environment. Therefore, the common-sense exemption set forth in CEQA Guidelines, Section 15061(b)(3) applies to this action and no further environmental analysis is needed.
The entitlement submittal for the Downtown Project, which will be evaluated in compliance with CEQA in preparation for public hearings, will be included in a future staff recommendation for City Council consideration.
COUNCIL GOAL COMPLIANCE:
Meets the following City Council goals:
B. Provide municipal government leadership which is open and responsive to residents, and is characterized by ethical behavior, stability, promoting public trust, transparency, confidence in the future, and cooperative interaction among civic leaders, residents, business representatives, and City staff, while recognizing and respecting legitimate differences of opinion on critical issues facing the City.
C. Operate City government in a fiscally and managerially responsible and prudent manner to ensure that the City of Thousand Oaks remains one of California's most desirable places to live, work, visit, recreate, and raise a family.
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J. Implement high quality revitalization projects within Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Newbury Road Areas; Develop a pedestrian-oriented, viable, and self- sustaining "Downtown;” and, continue to support production of long-term affordable housing.
Attachments:
Attachment #1 – RRM Downtown Site Plan (2025 Proposed Design) Attachment #2 – Map of Lands Previously Declared as Surplus CMO: 850-20\aa\Council\2025\062425\CI 5540\Downtown TO Project CC Workshop #2 staff report.docx