THOUSAND OAKS : Council Cuts Height of Arts Auditorium

The height of a planned performing arts auditorium at the former Jungleland site was reduced by the Thousand Oaks City Council after members criticized it as being too tall for the community.

The council on Tuesday night unanimously agreed to reduce the building’s height by 13 feet, or one story. The change will save the city as much as $200,000 in construction costs, officials said.

With the reduction, the building will be a total of 101 feet tall. It will still rise above the nearby Ventura Freeway, but will not be as imposing, council members said.

“It’s a seven-story building above the freeway . . . and the freeway is a fair distance up from the ground,” Councilman Bob Lewis said before agreeing to a shorter version that rises only 61 feet above the freeway.

The council rejected three other proposals that preserve all or part of the building at its original height, about 74 feet above the freeway.

Robert Newsom, one of the architects working on the development, had urged the council not to shorten the building, saying the appearance of the project could be harmed by making the structures too low.

However, he acknowledged that the extra height was not necessary to accommodate theatrical performances.

The city’s $63-million civic arts plaza will include an 1,800-seat auditorium, a city hall and a parking structure. It will be built on a 22-acre site at the corner of Conejo School Road and Thousand Oaks Boulevard.

Groundbreaking is scheduled for next October. Working architectural drawings are not expected to be finished until next June, Newsom said.