New Ventura County Office of Education Building to Serve Needs of Students with Autism

The Ventura County Office of Education (VCOE) today marked the completion of the new Mary E. Samples Education Services Center building in Camarillo.

The 29,944 square- foot, two-story building at 5250 Adolfo Road. was finished just over two years after construction began. The building is the new, permanent home of VCOE’s Triton Academy, which serves students with autism in 3rd through 12th grades. It also houses the administrative offices of VCOE’s Special Education Department and has space reserved for what could become a high-tech makerspace lab for middle school students throughout the county.

The building is named after Mary E. Samples, a longtime champion of children with special needs in Ventura County. Before she retired in 2018, Samples served for 14 years as the leader of the Ventura County SELPA (Special Education Local Plan Area), the agency that administers special education programs for public school students countywide. That capped a distinguished career spanning nearly four decades in Ventura County public education.

Plans to bring students back to class in the new building are temporarily on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic. Once it’s safe for them to return, students will find state-of-the art classrooms equipped with smart video screens, the latest specialized learning tools for children with autism, and an interactive outdoor play area. A formal dedication and grand opening ceremony for the new building will be held at a future date when conditions allow.

The $15 million in funding for the new building came from Proposition 51, a statewide school facilities bond measure that voters approved in 2016. The Mary Samples Center was built by Oxnard-based Viola Constructors and designed by DC Architects. Additional information, including a time lapse video of the building’s construction, is available at www.vcoe.org/msc.

About the Ventura County Office of Education

The Ventura County Office of Education provides a broad array of fiscal, training and technology support services to local school districts, helping to maintain and improve lifelong educational opportunities for children, educators and community members. VCOE also operates schools that serve students with severe disabilities and behavioral issues, provides career education courses, and coordinates countywide academic competitions including Mock Trial and the Ventura County Science Fair. Learn more at: www.vcoe.org.

Oakmont Senior Living Facility Under Construction on Canwood Street in Agoura Hills

For those wondering what all the grading and construction is going on at Canwood Street, just west of Kanan Road, this will be an Oakmont Senior Living facility.

Planned is a two-story, 71,020 square foot assisted living and memory care facility with 75 units and an anticipated resident population of 86 people.

Twenty-six of the units will be designated for residents requiring memory care (e.g. residents with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia).

Amenities at the facility will include cooking and dining facilities, activity rooms, beauty salon, library, fitness center, private theater and outside courtyards.

The plan is to use the southernmost section of the 5.73 acre lot for construction to minimize impact to existing oak trees on the northern portion of the site.

The site prior to grading.

Planned layout on the south side of the parcel (nearest to the 101).

Councilmember Rob McCoy Has Resigned from the Thousand Oaks City Council

Councilmember Rob McCoy has resigned his seat on the Thousand Oaks City Council effective immediately. Originally elected to the City Council in 2015, McCoy served as Mayor from December 2018 through December 2019.

In commenting on the resignation, Mayor Al Adam said “Rob was a voice of strength and healing as the City recovered from two simultaneous tragedies - Borderline and Woolsey Fire. I appreciate his contributions and wish him and his family well. While these circumstances are unfortunate, the remaining members of the Council and I are very much focused on moving forward.”

Based on the City’s ordinance for filling vacant seats, it is likely that the seat will remain vacant until filled during the upcoming November election.

Spoke w/ Mayor Al Adam this AM. Told me McCoy texted council last night to tell them.
“I think he’s doing the right thing,” Adam said of the resignation. “He can’t be an elected official and at the same time go forward with this (the communion). . . Now he’s a private citizen.”

— Kyle Jorrey (@KyleBJorrey) April 5, 2020

First Phase of Waterfront Mixed-Use Development Portside Ventura Harbor Completed

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First phase of the Largest Waterfront Mixed-Use Development of its Kind on West Coast Completed

Portside Ventura Harbor begins leasing first 56 of the 270 apartment homes

Developers of Portside Ventura Harbor, the largest mixed-used waterfront development of its kind on the West Coast, have released the first 56 apartment homes for lease. The culmination of nearly two decades of planning, at buildout in April 2020, the 27-acre Portside Ventura Harbor fronting Ventura Harbor and the Pacific Ocean will feature 270 apartment homes, 30 live/work units and 22,000 square feet of community serving retail.

Portside Ventura Harbor distinguishes itself from most other mixed-use developments by adhering to the new urbanism principles that are behind the successful communities of Seaside, FL and Santana Row near San Jose, CA. This ultimately helped the Portside Ventura Harbor project gain approval from the California Coastal Commission. Often referred to as “villages,” new urbanist projects place an emphasis on low-impact development with walkable streets, housing, public spaces and shopping all in close proximity to one another.

Created around a large public plaza, Portside Ventura Harbor residents can walk or bike to the community’s town center, 22,000 square feet of retail, pool, spa, tennis court, and pet park. To encourage enjoyment of the waterfront by the community, the developers also dedicated two acres for a public park as well as a new pedestrian promenade bordering the harbor.

The Mission Colonial architecture of Portside Ventura Harbor was designed by Togawa Smith Martin, Inc. with a very low-density ratio of 11 units per acre. All of Portside Ventura Harbor’s studio, one-, two-, three-bedroom apartment homes and live/work units averaging over 1,000 square feet – with 10 percent of the units set aside for low- and moderate-income earners — face the street to activate the sidewalks.

Portside Ventura Harbor also includes the first new marina in Ventura Harbor in more than 30 years. The Marina will feature 104 boat slips to accommodate vessels up to 80 feet, as well as a 90-foot public paddleboard dock.

The developers have engaged family-owned E&S Ring Management Corporation to oversee residential leasing and the Ventura County office of CBRE the retail leasing.

Learn more at portsideventuraharbor.com.

Camarillo Grove Park New Playground and Hiking Trail Re-Opening in Early October

New playground equipment has been ordered and will be installed in September at Camarillo Grove Park, 6968 E. Camarillo Springs Road in Camarillo. Construction is estimated to be complete in early October.

The Hill Fire of November 2018 raged through this park and destroyed the old playground, so it had to be completely removed. The fire also ravaged large sections of hiking trails and made them unsafe for the public to use. The Pleasant Valley Recreation and Park District has been working with FEMA to obtain additional funds to fix all the damage so that the entire park can be safely reopened to the public. The upper hiking trail loop has been closed for maintenance and should be re-opened by early September.

Camarillo Grove Park, a former stagecoach stop and home to the oldest tree in the district, is nestled in a rustic setting near the base of the Conejo Grade at the end of Camarillo Springs Road. The park has five areas that can be rented for groups and events ranging from 50 to 350 people, a perfect spot for weddings, birthday parties, charity events, anniversary parties, corporate and team building events, school field trips and more! Contact the District at 805-482-1996 for rental information.

Here’s a mockup of the type of playground going into Camarillo Grove Park.

More info at www.pvrpd.org/parks/park_list/camarillo_grove_park.asp.

Schools in Conejo Valley, Oak Park and Las Virgenes School Districts to Close through Thanksgiving Break as a Result of Wildfires

All schools in the Conejo Valley Unified School District, Las Virgenes Unified School District and Oak Park Unified School District will be closed through the Thanksgiving holiday. The districts anticipate re-opening schools the morning of Monday, November 26th. This is to provide time to make need repairs and cleaning resulting from the Hill and Woolsey wildfires.

www.vcoe.org

Community resources and Q&A from the CVUSD

City of Thousand Oaks to Construct "Forestry Demonstration Sites" in Fall 2018

The City of Thousand Oaks is constructing five landscape “Forestry Demonstration Sites” throughout the city starting in the Fall of 2018 through early 2019. Specific site locations will be published by the city at www.toaks.org/forestry.

Each site will be visually appealing, water friendly and drought tolerant. The first of these sties is located on Lynn Road in Newbury Park, between Via Las Brisas and Via Goleta (near the entrance to Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa).

Photo of Lynn Road Demonstration Site Location (Photo Credit: City of Thousand Oaks)

Mock-up of Lynn Road site after new landscaping is planted. (Photo Credit: City of Thousand Oaks)

Sapwi Trails Community Park Ribbon Cutting Ceremony in Thousand Oaks on September 22nd

The Conejo Recreation and Park District announces its Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the new Sapwi Trails Community Park on Saturday, September 22, 2018 from 9 am to noon.

This 145 acre park is located in the open space between Erbes Road (at Scenicpark Street) on the west and Westlake Boulevard east, with Avenida de los Arboles on the north.

The park has numerous features, including disc golf course, trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding, playground, bike park, terraced areas with picnic benches and more.

The park will not have irrigated turf.

More information at www.crpd.org/sapwi.