THOUSAND OAKS : Amgen, City to Discuss Firm’s Expansion Plans

The Thousand Oaks City Council and Planning Commission will have a special meeting with officials of Amgen Inc. on Tuesday to discuss the biotechnology firm’s future development plans, which would require some variances to the city’s building codes.

Amgen plans to double its 1 million square feet of local office and lab space over the next five years.

The company, which was founded in Thousand Oaks in 1980 and is now the largest independent biotechnology company in the world, occupies a 100-acre site along Hillcrest Drive at the west end of the city. Administrative, research and development facilities are housed in 21 buildings on the site.

Amgen’s plans call for adding five buildings, some of which would exceed the city’s 35-foot height limit. The height variance would probably be for three to five stories, officials said.

Ed Bjurstrom, Amgen’s project manager, said the variance is needed to reduce the number of facilities that the company would have to build.

A recently released environmental impact report found that the company’s development plans would greatly increase traffic at several nearby intersections, including Hillcrest Drive and Rancho Conejo Boulevard.

But the report said the increased traffic could be handled if some streets were widened and re-striped. It was also recommended that new traffic signals be installed in some areas and that others be re-synchronized.

These issues are expected to be discussed at Tuesday’s study session, which is set to begin at 5 p.m. at City Hall. Also, the environmental report on Amgen’s development plans will be the subject of several public hearings beginning in early January.