Vision and Guiding Principles
What are Guiding Principles?
At the heart of the General Plan are the guiding principles, which are comprised of two parts—community values and major strategies. They describe the key values of the community today and aspirations for how the City will achieve its vision between now and 2045.
Our Vision
Thousand Oaks—surrounded by a ring of open space and varieties of mature, native oak trees—is a tight-knit community where people of all ages, stages of life, and backgrounds can thrive in a suburban, family-friendly environment. Its high-quality of life is supported by award-winning public schools and services, extensive parks and recreation offerings, world-renowned arts and culture facilities and programs, and biotech and emerging technology businesses. Residents and visitors alike value the safe, welcoming, family-friendly atmosphere.
Guiding Principles
A good general plan is based on a community’s values and incorporates diverse input from its people, businesses, organizations, and community groups. The City actively sought such input during initial phases of the engagement process, which included community workshops, pop-up workshops, surveys, the General Plan Advisory Committee, and City Council.
The following list is the result of this engagement process and represents what the community has defined as characteristic values of the Thousand Oaks community. The following values are embedded throughout this General Plan.
A family-friendly community with a high-quality of life accessible to all.
An inclusive and welcoming community that embraces ethnic, racial, age, gender, disabled and special needs, sexual orientation, religion, and economic diversity.
High-quality parks, public facilities, and services.
The protection of open spaces, oak trees, and natural beauty and habitat.
A suburban community that is easy to get around, and where you can live, work, shop, and play.
The ability to live in the City regardless of income, stage in life, or disability.
A recognition that the community will evolve over time and change is inevitable.
Safe and convenient mobility options.
A diverse and resilient economy.
High-quality schools, including public/private schools and institutions of higher education.
A community devoted to arts and culture.
A safe and healthy community.
A City that recognizes its role as a leader in the Conejo Valley, Ventura County, and the Southern California region.
A leader in climate change and environmental sustainability.
An active and involved community.
Major Strategies
To successfully implement the vision and uphold the community’s values, the General Plan includes a series of strategies to be implemented over the next several decades. These strategies serve as a guidepost for the development and refinement of the goals, policies, and actions across this General Plan.
Vision Map
The Vision Map demonstrates our vision for the future of the City and identifies where some of our major strategies affect. Click on a pulsing dot to see which strategy is intended for that area.
Enhance visual gateways to the City with iconic architecture, open spaces, and monument signs.
to the City to create a balanced and economically resilient economy.
Continue to engage California Lutheran University and Los Robles Regional Medical Center as community stakeholders.
Create a diversity of housing types and affordability levels, including mixed-use and multifamily development.
Recognize that the majority of residential neighborhoods will experience minimal change over the time horizon of the General Plan.
Create a new “downtown core” for the City near the Civic Arts Plaza.
with a diverse mix of uses including residential.
Create “village centers” throughout the community that provide retail and services, gathering places, and multifamily housing.
the City to provide a physical separation from adjacent communities, beautiful vistas,
and a connection with nature.
4. Expand the existing network of parks and trails so that all residents are within a short walk
of a park, trail, or other open space.
All Major Strategies
Maintain the “ring of green” open space at the outer edges of the City and open spaces within the City to provide a physical separation from adjacent communities, beautiful vistas, and a connection with nature.
Preserve and expand the existing community forest, especially oak trees, through tree preservation and the significant addition of new trees.
Enhance visual gateways to the City with iconic architecture, open spaces, and monument signs.
Expand the existing network of parks and trails so that all residents are within a short walk of a park, trail, or other open space.
Preserve and enhance single-family and multifamily neighborhoods as low-scale, family-friendly, and safe places to live. Recognize that the majority of residential neighborhoods will experience minimal change over the time horizon of the General Plan.
Create a new “downtown core” for the City near the Civic Arts Plaza.
Revitalize underutilized land and opportunity areas (including the malls, older shopping centers, and Thousand Oaks Boulevard) with a diverse mix of uses including residential.
Expand the number and types of entertainment options.
Create “village centers” throughout the community that provide retail and services, gathering places, and multifamily housing.
Expand the number and diversity of jobs in biotech, healthcare, and education, and attract new jobs and businesses to the City to create a balanced and economically resilient economy.
Continue to engage California Lutheran University and Los Robles Regional Medical Center as community stakeholders.
Create a diversity of housing types and affordability levels, including mixed-use and multifamily development.
Establish a human-scaled network of complete streets that includes enhanced bicycle, pedestrian, and transit networks.
Expand the high-quality, diversity, and accessibility of public facilities and services, focusing on youth, seniors, and residents with special needs.
Take steps to protect the City against future natural or human-caused disasters, including earthquakes and wildfires, and develop resilience plans to respond to such events.
Meet or exceed State-established targets for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, energy use, water use, and recycling.
Maintain long-term fiscal sustainability by increasing revenues through land use and other policy changes.