Topic
Residential Neighborhoods
The section below identifies goals and policies throughout the General Plan related to Residential Neighborhoods. Use the buttons below to jump to a specific chapter.
Goal LU-1: Create a land use pattern of development that preserves existing neighborhoods while providing opportunities for targeted infill projects in strategic locations to enhance the quality of life, preserve the natural environment, and ensure the long-term fiscal viability of Thousand Oaks.
LU-1.1 Overall City structure.
Establish a clearly defined urban pattern of development and open space by:
- Maintaining and expanding the open space network and natural areas around the City.
- Maintaining the single-family residential character of established neighborhood areas.
- Supporting development along Thousand Oaks Boulevard in the area encompassing the Downtown Core Master Plan through revising the Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Civic Arts Plaza specific plans to implement the General Plan policies, and the Downtown Core Master Plan’s Primary Actions and Supporting Activities.
- Revitalizing Thousand Oaks Boulevard with a diverse mix of multi-family residential, retail, commercial, office, healthy food options, service and entertainment related uses, and civic gathering spaces. Incentivizing and streamlining infill multi-family development.
- Redeveloping large shopping malls, including The Oaks shopping mall and Janss Marketplace, into walkable, mixed-use places that include multi-family residential, hotels, entertainment and retail uses.
- Promoting new visitor-serving uses, such as lodging and commercial recreational uses, along Highway 101.
- Expanding and diversifying the employment uses in the City with a focus on biotech, high tech, research and development, and office uses.
- Redeveloping strip commercial shopping centers into walkable, mixed-use centers with housing, retail, and public meeting and gathering spaces.
- Discouraging the development of drive-through facilities and building designs for single use occupancy within mixed-use areas.
- Providing a supportive network of public uses throughout the City including parks, schools, libraries, and community centers.
- Supporting new development with sufficient sewer, water, electrical, and other critical infrastructure. Incentivizing and streamlining infill residential at mixed-use designations, including adding residential development on existing parking lots and underutilized portions of the site.
LU-1.6 Non-residential transitions.
Require transitions in building height, massing, and character for new buildings in mixed use, commercial, and industrial areas that are immediately adjacent to single-family residential areas. These transitions may include a combination of vegetation, berms, building setbacks, upper story setbacks, and a decrease in building height.
LU-1.8 Entitlement process.
Seek to be a business-friendly City by streamlining the City’s entitlement process to encourage new development and renovations of existing buildings for residential and non-residential uses.
LU-1.10 Landscaping.
Strive to increase the amount of green landscaping and trees throughout the City in order to combat climate change, provide shade and enhance the visual quality of Thousand Oaks. Landscaping shall be native and drought-tolerant where feasible.
Goal LU-2: Preserve and enhance existing neighborhoods throughout the City.
LU-2.1 Maintenance and improvement of residential properties.
Require the ongoing maintenance and improvement of existing residential properties.
LU-2.2 Deteriorated structures and nuisances.
Encourage neighborhood associations to proactively identify and address nuisances and reduce property deterioration.
LU-2.3 Sustainable residences.
Encourage sustainable building practices during new construction or when buildings are substantially renovated.
LU-2.4 Building additions.
Building additions and expansions should use matching materials to ensure compatibility with the existing character of the neighborhood.
LU-2.6 Circulation connectivity.
Seek opportunities to enhance existing residential neighborhoods by improving pedestrian and bicycle access and infrastructure, installing traffic calming measures, and creating new connections between adjacent streets, subdivisions and commercial areas.
LU-2.7 Access to neighborhood amenities.
Improve sidewalks and bike lanes within neighborhoods and along routes to retail areas, schools, parks, and other points of interest to promote active transportation. Improve active transportation-related street amenities, including bike parking, lighting, and seating along major routes.
Goal LU-3: Promote a diversity of housing types for Thousand Oaks residents through all stages of life.
LU-3.1 Diversity of housing.
Promote a diversity of housing types in locations throughout the City, specifically in neighborhood areas that contain goods and services, parks and open space, and public schools in a walkable setting.
LU-3.2 Housing for different life stages and incomes.
Encourage new housing types for all residents including young professionals, older adults, and middle- and low-income families.
LU-3.3 Intergenerational supportive housing.
Support extended family living within residential neighborhoods through modifications to existing homes.
LU-3.4 Aging in place.
Promote development of housing types that support opportunities to age in place.
LU-3.5 Housing for special needs.
Support housing for older adults, special needs groups (including those with developmental disabilities), and non-traditional family groups by allowing a diverse range of housing configurations and universally accessible design features.
Goal LU-5: Enhance quality of life, enable active modes of transportation, and provide housing opportunities with vibrant mixed-use areas.
LU-5.4 Residential infill within commercial shopping centers.
Encourage infill residential development on underutilized parking lots in mixed-use areas while also maintaining the site’s retail and commercial activity. Support the following activities, when necessary, to facilitate residential development:
- Subdivision of the parking area to create developable parcels.
- Clustering of density on underutilized portions of the site and/or parking area.
- Shared access to existing structures to allow existing uses to remain while the parking areas are being redeveloped or reconfigured.
- Addition to or reconfiguration of the existing structures
Goal LU-7: Redevelop underperforming commercial areas to support a thriving local economy.
LU-7.3 Retail connectivity to neighborhoods.
Support retail development that incorporates pedestrian connectivity to surrounding neighborhoods.
Goal LU-15: Repurpose The Oaks mall into a mixed-use center combining housing, entertainment, visitor serving uses, retail, and other uses in a walkable neighborhood.
LU-15.5 New walkable residential.
Encourage new residential development to be designed in a walkable format. Prohibit the construction of isolated and/or gated communities and connect new to existing development with paths.
Goal LU-16: Repurpose Moorpark Road between Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Wilbur Road into a mixed-use district.
LU-16.6 Multifamily Housing.
Facilitate multifamily housing in the existing parking lots by allowing for the subdivision of parking areas to create parcels for housing and clustering housing on underutilized portions of the site and/or parking lots. Ensure that the new residential development has a strong sense of place and is connected to nearby retail areas and neighborhoods.
Goal M-3: Create and maintain a transportation system that improves community health.
M-3.2 Neighborhood streets.
Create neighborhood streets that unify neighborhoods, reduce vehicle speeds, reduce barriers for people walking, biking, and riding transit, and provide connectivity to arterials. Extend stubbed-end streets through future developments, where appropriate, to provide necessary circulation within a developing area and for adequate internal circulation within and between neighborhoods.
M-3.3 Truck routing.
Identify, designate, and enforce truck routes to minimize the impact of truck traffic on residential neighborhoods.
Corresponding Implementation Actions
| wdt_ID | wdt_created_by | wdt_created_at | wdt_last_edited_by | wdt_last_edited_at | Action | Goal | Chapter | Timeframe | Lead Responsibility | Topic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | christian | 13/12/2024 05:44 PM | christian | 13/12/2024 05:44 PM | LU-A.1 Comprehensive zoning code update. Following the adoption of the General Plan, prepare a comprehensive update to the Citywide zoning code. | LU-1 | Land Use | Short | Community Development | |
| 2 | christian | 13/12/2024 05:44 PM | christian | 13/12/2024 05:44 PM | LU-A.2 Create new mixed-use zoning district. Following the adoption of the General Plan, create a new mixed-use zoning district, including performance standards for infill development on parking lots and commercial structures. | LU-5 | Land Use | Short | Community Development | Parking, Mixed-Use and New Development |
| 3 | christian | 13/12/2024 05:44 PM | christian | 16/12/2024 10:39 PM | LU-A.3 Inclusionary Housing Program. Adopt and implement an Inclusionary Housing Program. | LU-3 and LU-4 | Land Use | Short | Community Development | Equity, Mixed-Use and New Development |
| 4 | christian | 13/12/2024 05:44 PM | christian | 13/12/2024 05:44 PM | LU-A.4 Campus Master Plan. Implement vision of the Downtown Core Master Plan by redesigning the Civic Arts Plaza. | LU-13 | Land Use | Medium | City Manager’s Office | Civic Arts Plaza and Culture |
| 5 | christian | 13/12/2024 05:44 PM | christian | 13/12/2024 05:44 PM | LU-A.5 Creation of a downtown core. Initiate public/private partnerships to redevelop Thousand Oaks Boulevard as a “main street” with public, retail, lodging, entertainment and/or multi-family uses. | LU-13 and LU-14 | Land Use | Long | City Manager’s Office | Jobs and Economic Development, Mixed-Use and New Development |
| 6 | christian | 13/12/2024 05:44 PM | christian | 13/12/2024 05:44 PM | LU-A.6 Update specific plans. Update Specific Plans where policy changes are required pursuant to the 2045 General Plan policies, starting with the Thousand Oaks Boulevard Specific Plan. | LU-1, LU-13, and LU-14 | Land Use | Short | Community Development | |
| 7 | christian | 13/12/2024 05:44 PM | christian | 13/12/2024 05:44 PM | LU-A.7 Specific plan or master plan preparation. Coordinate with property owners of key opportunity sites to prepare Specific Plan or Master Plan efforts for the following areas: The Oaks, Moorpark Road/Janss Marketplace, Highway 101 Corridor/Borchard Property | LU-15, LU-16, LU-17, and LU-18 | Land Use | Medium | Community Development | |
| 8 | christian | 13/12/2024 05:44 PM | christian | 13/12/2024 05:44 PM | LU-A.8 Mixed-use and adaptive reuse parking requirements study. Conduct a study to investigate modifying parking requirements for new mixed-use development and adaptive reuse projects. Revise the Thousand Oaks Municipal Code accordingly. | LU-5 | Land Use | Short | Community Development | Sustainability, Health, Parking, Mixed-Use and New Development |
| 9 | christian | 13/12/2024 05:44 PM | christian | 13/12/2024 05:44 PM | LU-A.9 Municipal code review for healthy housing. Review, revise, and update the municipal code (as well as other relevant plans, procedures, regulations, guidelines, programs, and design manuals) to promote healthy housing quality. | LU-4 | Land Use | Long | Community Development | Residential Neighborhoods, Health |
| 10 | christian | 13/12/2024 05:44 PM | christian | 13/12/2024 05:44 PM | LU-A.10 Affordable housing linkage fee. Study and determine nexus to implement a fee program where new commercial and/or industrial developments pay a fee to fund affordable housing units. | LU-3 and LU-4 | Land Use | Short | Community Development | Equity, Mixed-Use and New Development |