SUNSET HILLS HISTORY
by William Golubics
July 2007

Joel McCrea
In 1933, film star Joel McCrea (1905-1990) and his film star wife Frances Dee (1907-2004) purchased a large ranch in Ventura County, California, where they raised three sons, Peter, Joel Dee (who became an actor as Jody McCrea) and David. The ranch, located in the northeast area of what is now the City of Thousand Oaks, is commonly known as the Sunset Hills area.

Joel McCrea, the son of a Los Angeles utility company executive, was raised in Hollywood and studied acting at Pomona College. His early film career included a number of romantic dramas with Barbara Stanwyck; however, he is remembered primarily for his performances in two dozen westerns made from 1947 to 1959. His movie career spanned from 1928 to 1970.

Frances Dee, the daughter of an Army officer, was born in Los Angeles but she grew up and was educated in Chicago. As a lark, while visiting relatives in Hollywood, she worked as an extra in movies and that led to a contract with Paramount studios. She appeared in 51 films from 1929 to 1953, appearing with notable leading men Maurice Chevalier, Gary Cooper, Ronald Coleman and her husband Joel McCrea.

Joel McCrea died on the couple’s 57th wedding anniversary in 1990. After McCrea’s death, Ms. Dee remained on the ranch in Thousand Oaks except for the two years prior to her death in 2004 when she lived in New Mexico to be near her two sons Joel and David.

In 1981, Joel McCrea donated the 75-acre McCrea Wildlife Refuge to the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency (COSCA). The property is the centerpiece of a 148-acre open space refuge that includes rocky outcrops that are favorite roosting and nesting sites for birds of prey, as well as a deep canyon that provides a year-round water source for local wildlife and riparian vegetation. Public access to this preserve area is limited in order to protect sensitive natural resources.

In 1995, the McCrea family donated approximately 220 acres of their ranch to the Conejo Recreation and Park District. The acreage contains the former working portion of the ranch with a cluster of buildings including the barns, shop, milk house, corrals and bunkhouse. Adjacent to the ranch buildings, a private road runs east through the fields to the end of a small valley where the main residence and the housekeeping staff residence are located. The Joel McCrea Ranch was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and on the California Register of Historical Resources on April 18, 1997. The District plans a series of improvements to the property and buildings to make them available for public use.

Sunset International Petroleum Co.
In 1963, the Sunset International Petroleum Co. purchased approximately 1,090 acres from the McCrea Ranch. Sunset Petroleum, the fourth largest land developer in the nation at that time, created a master plan for an intensive development program consisting of residences, commercial developments and recreational facilities to accommodate a population of 13,800 residents. To pay for the construction of water storage tanks, water lines, a sewage treatment plant and sewer lines, Sunset Petroleum convinced Thousand Oaks Water District 6 officials to create a special improvement district with authorization of a $1.5 million bond issue. Since the land was vacant, no one from the general public testified at the required public hearings to object to future homeowners being bonded to pay off the developer’s land improvement costs.

Authorization for the bond issue was based on Sunset Petroleum’s schedule that by 1972 all 1,110 single family residences, 1,805 multiple dwelling units, three neighborhood shopping centers, park areas and two elementary schools would be completed and occupied. However, three years after initiating the project only approximately 100 houses had been built and the prices of the homes were not competitive because the hillside grading and utility construction costs were much higher than anticipated by the developer. Also, the residential housing market was significantly depressed. Based on those adverse conditions, Sunset Petroleum abandoned the project and it was taken over by California Federal Savings & Loan Co.

By 1971, approximately 250 houses had been constructed and occupied and approximately 50 house were completed but unsold. Thus, 250 homeowners were paying off utility construction bonds that were to have been paid off by 4,000 homeowners. And to make matters worse, the then current tax rate formula in Ventura County allowed the developed residential lots to be taxed at a higher rate than developer-owned vacant land. The tax rate per $100 assessed valuation had been projected to be $0.75 when in actuality Sunset Hills homeowners were being taxed $2.40.

California Federal Savings & Loan Co.
In 1968 California Federal Savings & Loan Co. became the owner of approximately 1,000 acres of land in Sunset Hills when Sunset International Petroleum Co. abandoned a partially completed residential/commercial project planned on those acres. After selling portions of the property to home building companies, Cal Fed was left with 655 acres which required a revised master development plan. The revised master plan and attendant zoning changes were reviewed and modified in a series of public information meetings, city planning commission hearings and city council hearings conducted in 1972 and 1973. In conformance with the adopted new master plan for Sunset Hills, Cal Fed then sold its remaining parcels to home builders and private parties who constructed residential projects that were incrementally approved by the City of Thousand Oaks.

Sunset Hills Homeowners Association
In January 1970, a group of residents representing 51 households in Sunset Hills formally organized the Sunset Hills Homeowners Association (SHHA). At that time the only houses in Sunset Hills were located north of Olsen Road and there were several unique public issues impacting the residents of those houses. The most pressing one was a financial inequity in telephone service. Olsen Road was the boundary between two telephone companies --- General Telephone served the 35,000 residents in the City of Thousand Oaks and Pacific Telephone served homes located north of Olsen Road in the Moorpark-Simi Valley area. Thus, Sunset Hills residents were faced with paying toll call fees for calls to friends and businesses in Thousand Oaks or paying a double monthly rate for service from two phone companies. The SHHA immediately pressed city, county and state elected officials to require the California Public Utilities Commission to conduct a hearing and resolve the matter. On April 29, 1970, the SHHA filed a complaint against General Telephone and Pacific Telephone before the PUC and a public hearing was conducted in Thousand Oaks to receive evidence. As a result, the PUC with the cooperation of the two phone companies adjusted the service rates and established toll free calling in north Thousand Oaks.

Following are some of the major issues subsequently addressed by the SHHA:
1971 - Solicited the support of city, county and state elected officials to legislate a solution to the property tax inequity in Sunset Hills resulting from developer-owned vacant properties being taxed for existing infrastructure improvements at tax rates significantly lower than developed residential properties. As a result, on May 30, 1972, Governor Ronald Reagan signed a bill initiated by the City of Thousand Oaks to allow a city to fix an “annual standby charge” on property that is improved with utilities or roads, but which has not been built upon.

1972 - Protested a plan by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors to construct a small-aircraft, general aviation airport in the Tierra Rejada valley located immediately north of Sunset Hills.

1972 - Protested a master plan proposed by California Federal Savings & Loan Co. to significantly intensify residential development in Sunset Hills. The final master plan approved by the Thousand Oaks City Council established zoning for a total of 1,914 dwelling units, of which up to 535 units could be apartments.

1973 - Supported the annexation of 2,600 acres in north Thousand Oaks into the Conejo Recreation and Park District so that neighborhood park facilities could be provided in Sunset Hills by the district.

1984 - Opposed Conejo Valley Unified School District’s proposed sale of elementary school site property at Erbes Road and Calle Zocalo. And, successfully obtained the School District’s cooperation to lease the property to the Conejo Recreation and Park District for the development of Canada Park.

1985 through 1989 - Opposed Ventura County Board of Supervisor’s proposal to expand the East Valley sheriff’s Station to include a 50-bed jail, and to build a courthouse complex on vacant land adjacent to the station.

1986 - Supported and urged Park District funding and construction of Canada Park.

1987 - Commenced maintaining the Sunset Hills landmark signs and arches located on Olsen Road west of Sunset Hills Boulevard, with cost participation from the West Hill Homeowners Association.

1990 - Successfully obtained the installation of turn limiting signs on Calle Contento and Moorpark Rd. by the City to reduce the amount of traffic using Calle Contento as a shortcut between Olsen Road and Moorpark Road.

1991 - Lobbied the City to construct a sidewalk on Olsen Road from Calle Zocalo to Erbes Road.

1992 - Reviewed a proposal by the City to amend the Thousand Oaks General Plan to delete a future easterly extension of Sunset Hills Boulevard to connect with First Street in Simi Valley. This future street connection would increase traffic on Sunset Hills Boulevard but decrease traffic on Olsen Road. A consensus among Sunset Hills residents could not be established by the SHHA; therefore, residents were encouraged to express to the City Council their individual opposition to or support of the deletion of the future street connection. The City Council did eliminate the connection.

1993 - Worked with the City to close Calle Contento to through traffic by installing traffic barriers adjacent to Moorpark Road.

1997 - Lobbied the City to construct a sidewalk on Olsen Road from Erbes Road to Sunset Hills Boulevard.

1999 - Obtained City installation of signs prohibiting right turns from westbound Olsen Road onto Calle Zocalo from 7am to 9am in order to prevent morning commuters from using Calle Artigas as a bypass route around traffic congestion on Olsen Road. The signs were removed in 2001 after a traffic signal was installed to replace the 4-way stop signs at Olsen Road and Erbes Road.

2000 - Urged the City to work with Caltrans to have traffic signals installed on Olsen Road at the State Route 23 freeway ramp intersections after a fatal collision occurred.

As demonstrated by past actions, the SHHA attempts to identify local concerns in Sunset Hills and work with appropriate public officials and agencies to resolve the issues in the best interest of the homeowners. In addition, continuous effort is made by the association to foster a sense of community by sponsoring picnics, neighborhood garage sales, cleanup weekends, Neighborhood Watch and a newsletter.

The SHHA is a volunteer organization and has no authority to enforce or solicit compliance with the Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions affecting real properties in Sunset Hills.