Moorpark's new civic center plans unveiled
By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com

Moorpark officials have approved preliminary plans for a new civic center that will be built on High Street, west of Moorpark Avenue, in about four years.

The new City Hall within the center will be a state-of-the-art facility that will benefit the public as well as city employees, according to City Manager Steven Kueny.

The municipal headquarters will be more user-friendly for the community and will provide a better working environment for city staff, said Councilmember Keith Millhouse. It will also offer more room for special events.

The development is on the city's Top 10 priority list, which also includes a new library and a human services center. The Ruben Castro Human Services Center will be built in phases and is slated to be completed in about 2anda-half years, Kueny said. The first phase will consist of a medical facility and offices.

City officials also hope to build a new library in the Civic Center, but no time lines or funding sources have been set yet.

All the plans are part of the longterm High Street revitalization effort, Millhouse said.

After reviewing the campus master plan and building site concept for the civic center last year, officials appointed an ad hoc committee to work with the architect and city staff to incorporate specific features into the plan.

The council, wanting to ensure that an expansion or replacement of the library building was included in the plans, approved a revised plan showing a parcel on the northeast side of the civic center reserved for a two-story library.

As proposed, the civic center will be built on a 2.2-acre site north of High Street. The two-story, 35,000-square-foot city hall, to be situated between Moorpark Avenue and the existing flood control channel, will have a center courtyard. A traffic circle framed with historic oaks or California pepper trees is slated to be a focal point at the west end of High Street.

A landscaped berm will be built along Moorpark Avenue as a barrier to minimize traffic noise. Two pedestrian pathways will facilitate access to the civic center from Moorpark Avenue and High Street.

Other features include a covered entrance walkway from the parking area and passenger dropoff area leading to a public plaza and the building's main entrance. The large main courtyard will have a trellis structure to unify the space and provide shade.

The conceptual plan leaves room for expansion and reuse of the existing buildings for the benefit of the Active Adult Center and for community meetings.

The existing City Hall building could be used as a teen center, officials said.

The temporary City Hall structures will probably be removed to allow for improved parking and pedestrian access. The small playground near the library will be removed or relocated to make way for more parking.