City of Thousand Oaks City Council Conducts Prescreen of Kmart Site Redevelopment Project

UPDATE: City Council voted 3-1 to allow the developers to prepare an application to propose moving forward with the project. This was just a “prescreen.” The actual project has not been approved as of yet.

Tonight the Thousand Oaks City Council conducted a prescreen of an application to redevelop the former Kmart location at 325 Hampshire Road. Information on the project can be viewed at www.toaks.org/kmart.

The proposed project includes two mixed used buildings with 388 units and two townhome buildings with 71 units, as well as a 2,400 square foot community building. Total site area is 513,525 square feet, with 25% open space.

Modified Ventura County Stay Well at Home Order Allows Reopening of Lower Risk Businesses on May 8th

The County of Ventura Public Health Officer announced today a new modified Stay Well VC Health Order to align with the State of California’s four-stage framework for reopening.

The County will move forward with the State’s Stage 2 of reopening lower-risk businesses on Friday, May 8th. This will allow retail businesses, such as clothing stores, bookstores, sporting goods stores and florists, for example, to reopen with curb side delivery, as well as the related manufacturing and supply chain businesses.

The Order is also extended from May 15 to May 31.

“We are at a turning point because of the community’s incredible compliance with social distancing and the sacrifices of individuals and businesses. These efforts have saved lives, helped prevent the spread of the virus in our community and put us in a position to move forward gradually and safely in reopening our economy. Our ability to move forward is directly tied to our continuing commitment to physical distancing. With the issuance of Dr. Levin’s new Stay Well VC Order, we will align even more closely with the Governor’s revised order because we support the approach of evaluating businesses for reopening based on level of risk and we believe it will provide greater clarity. The new local order will retain some aspects of our previous order in areas such as guidelines for seniors and long-term care facilities,” said Mike Powers, County of Ventura CEO.

“Our community members have answered the call to stay well at home and thanks to them, we are in a position to move forward. These actions have saved lives. It is critical that our community continues to use caution. The virus is not gone. It is dangerous and poses a significant health risk. As we move into the next stage, we must do so with great care. We must continue to practice social distancing and businesses must make modifications needed to lower the risk of COVID-19 exposure,” said Public Health Officer Doctor Robert Levin.

The County has made progress in meeting the Governor’s requirements for moving forward. These steps have included: hospital surge and personal protective equipment capacity; protection of high-risk patient populations: seniors, long term care facility residents, homeless; contact tracing capacity and thoughtful data driven public health guidance.

“The efforts to protect our community health and our local economy are aligned. Investing in these public health steps will benefit the health of our community as well as our local economy. Until there is a vaccine, these are the only tools we have to identify and prevent the spread of the virus in our community,” said Powers. “We have a plan for verification and education under our Public Health Officer Doctor Robert Levin’s guidance to further ensure our local businesses can reopen and do so safely. We have found almost universally that our local businesses truly want to comply. Businesses and local business leaders with the Economic Development Collaborative, Cities, Chambers, Women’s Economic Ventures and the Ventura County Economic Development Association have come to the table in the spirit of compliance. They get it and want to make sure they protect their employees and customers.”

State of California Covid-19 reopening website at covid19.ca.gov/roadmap.

Los Angeles County to Begin Lifting Restrictions on Certain Businesses and Recreational Activities Beginning May 8th

Los Angeles County residents are doing their part to follow the County’s “Safer at Home” Health Officer Order which has slowed the spread of COVID-19. Los Angeles County is now taking its first steps towards reopening businesses and getting people back to work!

The following is a list of businesses that are re-opening effective Friday, May 8th:

Non-essential business: reopening for curbside pick-up with adherence to distancing and infection control protocols

• Bookstores

• Clothing stores

• Florists

• Music stores

• Sporting goods stores

• Toy stores

• Car dealership showrooms (open for sales with adherence to distancing and infection control protocols)

Outdoor parks and recreational facilities are open on SATURDAY, MAY 9TH provided all activities adhere to distancing and infection control protocols.

• Golf courses (not including pro-shops or dine-in restaurants)

• Trails

• Trailheads, parks

The re-opening of businesses will occur in stages and require physical distancing and infection control practices.

The curve has flattened, however the COVID-19 pandemic is still in LA County. The coronavirus is still deadly and capable of quickly taking many lives. As L.A. County moves into its first stage of recovery, all residents, business owners and employees must continue to observe and practice all COVID-19 physical distancing requirements.

LA County residents - continue to do your part to slow the spread of COVID-19:

• Wear a face covering whenever you leave home

• Wash hands throughout the day

• Stay six feet away from people who don’t live with you

And don’t forget - you can get a free COVID-19 test if you have symptoms. All tests are confidential, and will tell you if you’re COVID-19 positive or negative. Click here for more information about COVID-19 testing in LA County.

covid19.lacounty.gov/recovery

Recent Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act Notices Presented to the Ventura County Board of Supervisors

Here is a compilation of Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notices submitted to the Ventura County Board of Supervisors since the COVID-19 Stay Well at Home Order was issued on March 20th.

• Patagonia Works furloughed 14 employees at Great Pacific Iron Works, 46 employees at Great Pacific Child Development Center and 25 employees at the Patagonia facility in Ventura on April 25th.

• Lacoste is furloughing 11 employees at its Camarillo store effective April 19th until at least May 2nd.

• 434 employees were furloughed beginning April 12th at HomeGoods, TJ Maxx and Marshalls stores throughout Ventura County. Furloughs are anticipate to be temporary, up to 4 months.

• Employees of Silver Star Auto Group, including Acura of Thousand Oaks, Honda of Thousand Oaks, Mercedes-Benz of Thousand Oaks, Lexus of Thousand Oaks, JLR of Thousand Oaks, Silver Star Cadillac, Silver Star Buick GMC and Silver Star Chevrolet were furloughed on April 27th. 228 employees were impacted.

• Cinemark laid off 77 employees at Century RiverPark in Oxnard and 35 employees at Century 10 Downtown Ventura effective March 26th.

• Sysco Ventura laid off 55 employees and furloughed 4 employees. The furloughs began on April 8th and expected to last through July.

• 27 employees at the Guitar Center corporate office in Thousand Oaks were furloughed on April 6th.

• 6 employees subject to furlough at Visions Treatment Centers Thousand Oaks

• 36 employees were furloughed at Dick’s Sporting Goods Thousand Oaks on April 12th. the furloughs are intended to be temporary and last less than six months.

• 65 employees at United Road Services were laid off on April 15th. The layoffs are expected to be temporary.

• 49 employees were furloughed at Outback Steakhouse in Oxnard on March 18th The furlough is intended to be temporary.

• 11 employees were furloughed at the Torrid store in Ventura on April 6th.

• Southwestern & Pacific Specialty Finance is permanently laying off 5 employees at stores in Camarillo, Simi Valley and Ventura on April 21st.

• Sleep Number stores in Oxnard and Thousand Oaks to employees on April 9th.

• Temporary furloughs at Western Dental Services at 455 South C Street, Oxnard effective April 6th through May 15th (16 jobs), at 1200 Saviers Road, Oxnard (13 jobs), 1397 E. Los Angeles Ave, Suite F, Simi Valley (12 jobs) and 2750 E. Main Street, Ventura (12 jobs)

• Temporary furloughs at Ross Dress for Less stores at 255 W. Ventura Blvd, Camarillo (48 jobs), 2241 N. Rose Ave, Oxnard (50 jobs) and 4687 Telephone Road, Ventura (61 jobs), commencing April 5th.

• Temporary furloughs at Kohl’s stores throughout the state effective April 5th, including Moorpark (65 jobs), Simi Valley (90 jobs), Newbury Park (73 jobs), Ventura (100 jobs)

• Layoffs at Club Demonstration Services in Simi Valley (49 jobs) and Oxnard (48 jobs)

• Permanent closure of Maria’s Italian Kitchen at The Collection at RiverPark in Oxnard effective April 3rd. They indicate the closure was caused by COVID-19 related business circumstances. (37 jobs)

• Paul Martin’s indicates a temporary loss of 79 employees at its location at The Promenade at Westlake in Thousand Oaks.

• Furloughs at Tierra Sur restaurant in Oxnard effective April 1st affected 28 employees.

• Furloughs at Beta Beauty in Oxnard (4 jobs), ColourPop Cosmetics in Oxnard (9 jobs) and Spatz Labs in Oxnard (2 jobs).

• Furlough of 104 employees at Camp Amgen in Newbury Park (Amgen’s child care center).

• Furlough of employees at Burlington Coat Factory in Thousand Oaks (48 jobs) and Ventura (70 jobs) starting March 31st.

• Furlough of employees at H&M (Hennes & Mauritz LP) in Oxnard (34 jobs), The Oaks Mall in Thousand Oaks (23 jobs) and Pacific View Mall in Ventura (13 jobs).

• Furlough of employees at Urbane Cafe Camarillo (8 jobs).

• Furlough of 192 employees at Carmax in Oxnard effective April 8th.

• Furlough of 99 employees at Addison Behavioral Resources in Camarillo effective March 22nd.

• Furlough of 11 employees at Zara Thousand Oaks.

• Furlough of 45 employees at the Ventura County Fairgrounds effective April 8th.

• Furlough of 100 employees at Oxnard Levity Live effective March 13th.

• Furlough of 45 employees at Carter’s and OshKosh facilities in Camarillo effective April 3rd.

• Lazy Dog furloughed employees on March 17th throughout the state, including Oxnard (120 jobs) and Thousand Oaks (111 jobs).

• Tarantula Hill Brewing Company in Thousand Oaks permanently laid off 71 employees on March 18-19.

• The Walking Company laid off a number of employees at its Westlake Village location effective March 20th.

• Furloughs at Players Casino in Ventura were done effective March 31st, impacting 183 jobs.

• Furloughs at Stonefire Grill locations in Agoura Hills (9 jobs), Thousand Oaks (26 jobs) and Ventura (23 jobs) effective March 25th.

• Furloughs at Ventura Toyota effective March 24th impacting 73 employees.

• Temporary closure of the Pentair facility in Moorpark effective March 20th, leading to furlough of 68 employees.

• Layoff of 55 employees at Brent’s Deli in Westlake Village effective March 27th.

• Furlough of employees at LA Fitness locations in Newbury Park (41 jobs), Oxnard (31 jobs) and Ventura (44 jobs) on or about April 1st.

Ventura County Public Health Officer Issues New Stay Well at Home Order Today

Public Health Officer Issues New Stay Well At Home Order Protecting Seniors in Long-Term Care Facilities, Placing Further Limitations on Gatherings, Adding to the List of Essential Businesses and Enacting Social Distancing Protocols

Ventura County Public Health Officer Doctor Robert Levin has enhanced the Stay Well At Home order to save lives and stop the spread of COVID-19 in the County of Ventura. The Order supplements the Health Officer’s Orders dated March 17, 20 and 31, 2020. All prior Orders issued by the Health Officer remain in effect except where modified by the provisions of the latest Order.

The intent of the Order is to ensure that the maximum number of people stay in their place of residence to the maximum extent feasible to slow the spread of COVID-19 and mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the delivery of critical healthcare services to those in need.

The Order supplements and amends existing orders by, among other things: prohibiting all gatherings, no matter the size, outside of places of residences with limited exceptions, adding certain businesses to the list of essential businesses, requiring essential businesses to adopt and implement social distancing protocols, providing guidance for hospital holding units and long-term care facilities and declaring that violations of Health Officer Orders constitute a threat to public health.

Hospitals and Long-Term Care Facilities

Ventura County Public Health Department seeks to protect vulnerable populations from COVID-19. The most vulnerable population is the elderly. Seniors confined together in a Long-Term Care Facility are at particular risk. An outbreak there might result in numerous deaths. The Order advises Long-Term Care Facilities to relocate COVID-19 positive patients to COVID-19 Holding Units within hospitals.

All Gatherings Prohibited:

• All public and private gatherings of two or more persons occurring outside a single household or living unit are prohibited, except for the limited purposes of operating an essential business or to perform essential governmental functions or services.

• Members of single household or living unit are permitted to engage in essential travel or essential activities together.

• Gatherings of 10 or fewer persons are permitted at graveside funeral services.

• Staff of organizations or associations may gather for the sole purpose of preparing and facilitating live-stream or other virtual communications with their members and are limited to as few as possible and no more than 7 people.

Additions to the List of Essential Businesses:

• Bicycle repair and supply shops may engage in the sale of bicycles on-line only and provided that all bicycles are delivered to a place of residence or Essential Business.

• Service providers that enable residential real estate transactions (including rentals, leases and home sales), including, but not limited to, real estate agents, escrow agents, notaries, and title companies, provided that appointments and other residential viewings must only occur virtually or, if virtual viewing is not feasible, by appointment with no more than two visitors at a time, both whom must reside within the same household or living unit, and one individual showing the unit (except in-person visits are not allowed when the occupant is present in the residence).

• Automotive dealerships may engage in the purchase or sale of automobiles (including cars, trucks, motorcycles and motorized scooters) on-line only and provided that all vehicles are delivered to a place of residence or Essential Business.

All Essential Businesses must have Social Distancing Protocol

• All essential businesses must prepare and post by no later than April 12, 2020, a “Social Distancing Protocol” for each of their facilities in the County frequented by the public or employees. The Social Distancing Protocol must be posted at or near the entrance of the relevant facility and shall be easily viewable by the public and employees. A copy of the Social Distancing Protocol must also be provided to each employee performing work at the facility. All essential businesses shall implement the Social Distancing Protocol and provide evidence of its implementation to any authority enforcing the Order upon demand.

Detailed order (pdf) at https://vcportal.ventura.org/covid19/docs/2020-04-09_COVID19_PH_Order_April_9_2020.pdf

City of Calabasas to Require Face Coverings at Essential Business Effective April 10th

Face Coverings Requirement in Calabasas effective April 10, 2020

Any person shopping or working at a grocery store, restaurant, or other essential business within the City of Calabasas shall wear a face covering while they are at the location. A face covering can include bandanas, scarves, or cloth masks which covers both the mouth and nose of an individual. Employers are required to provide, pay for, or reimburse their employees for face coverings as needed to protect their employees.

Residents should not purchase N95 or surgical masks, as these are limited resources needed for the healthcare community and first responders. This is intended to protect employees, customers and residents.

A grocery store, restaurant, or other essential business may refuse admission or service to any individual who fails to wear a face covering as required by this order. All grocery stores, restaurants, or other essential businesses are further required to develop and implement a written, comprehensive COVID-19 exposure control plan, to be approved by the City within 3 days from the date of this Order, which includes control measures such as social distancing; face coverings and personal protective equipment, hygiene; decontamination procedures, and training.

Real Estate Sales Open Houses and Showings. Open houses and other group real estate events and showings of a property or condominium offered for sale or lease are prohibited gatherings. Pre-scheduled showings or inspections of a property or condominium offered for sale or lease are permitted, but only if the minimum number of persons necessary to show or inspect the property are present and only if all persons present maintain six feet minimum distance, face coverings, and other social distancing requirements at all times.

www.cityofcalabasas.com

City of Ojai to Require Use of Face Coverings at Essential Businesses Effective April 10th

On April 8, 2020, the City of Ojai announced the implementation of executive order 20-02, requiring that, effective April 10, 2020, employees and customers at an essential business wear a face covering over their nose and mouth. Face coverings are not required when driving or when you are outside in a location where you are unlikely to encounter others in close proximity; but residents are reminded to practice good social distancing at all times.

The notice requests that residents not purchase N95 or surgical masks needed by medical professionals, but instead requires face coverings from bandanas, scarves, or cloth masks. The City will provide signage to essential businesses advising customers of the requirement.

This order is intended to protect both residents and employees who are performing essential services.

Conejo Open Space Trails Closed Immediately Until Further Notice (Order Given Friday Night, March 27th)

Although Ventura County Public Health has not ordered the closure of public trails in Thousand Oaks, the SMMC/MRCA and County of Los Angeles have closed their parks, trails and beaches. Friday evening, State Parks has also determined to close its parks and beaches in the Angeles District. The Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency (COSCA) indicates it cannot handle the anticipated tidal wave of trail users from our own community combined with the millions of neighbors in west LA County who no longer have trails, parks and beaches available to them.

Therefore, COSCA trails in Thousand Oaks are closed effective immediately in order to protect the health of the public and our beloved open spaces during this unprecedented pandemic.