SIMI VALLEY : City Votes to Broaden Industrial Area Uses

Trying to keep up with the ever-changing real estate market in Southern California, the Simi Valley City Council on Monday night approved a plan that eventually may permit business and office buildings to mix with light-manufacturing plants on the west side of town.

Although the area west of 1st Street along the Simi Valley Freeway is zoned for light manufacturing, there has been an ever-increasing interest in locating offices and warehouse-type retail stores there, city officials said.

To move forward, city planners will have to conduct a more thorough environmental review of the land. The Northridge earthquake and a change in the flood zone have led them to believe that earlier reviews of the area were not detailed enough.

The environmental study could take more than a year and cost about $185,000. In the interim, the city Planning Department will issue temporary permits for businesses that do not comply with existing zoning.