Ventura County panel approves Brandeis-bardin campus expansion, citing mitigated environmental impacts; neighbors pressed for guaranteed secondary wildfire eges

Ventura County planning commissioners on a unanimous vote certified the final Environmental Impact Report and granted a major modification to Conditional Use Permit (CUP) 1776 for the Brandeis-bardin campus, owned by American Jewish University (AJU), allowing construction of a 4,460-square-foot welcome center, 13 duplex-style camper cabins, three two-bedroom head-counselor cabins, a 2,308-square-foot arts pavilion, a 58-space parking lot and related site improvements.

Planning staff told the commission the EIR found potential environmental impacts but concluded that, with the proposed mitigation measures, impacts would be reduced to a less-than-significant level and no statement of overriding considerations was required. The modification also recognizes the Brandeis-bardin Mutual Water Company and proposes permitting changes including an increase in Camp Alonim’s overnight capacity from 400 to 500 and a tiered temporary-events allowance (up to 150 events of up to 300 attendees per year; up to ten events of up to 500 attendees; and up to six events of up to 1,000 attendees). Staff recommended certification of the final EIR and approval of the CUP modification and an associated discretionary tree permit.

"The project satisfies all of the required findings to grant a major modification to a conditional use permit," county planning staff told commissioners and recommended approval with the errata memo and fire-department revisions to the conditions of approval. Among the fire department changes was a revision to condition 90 to clarify that project gates be designed to allow egress without a code or key.

AJU leaders and their design team framed the work as both a campus restoration and a community resource. "Our intention is to bring it back to where it was when it started, which is a jewel of this community," said Jason Anderson, president and CEO of American Jewish University. Architect Marco Mancini described materials and design choices meant to reduce tree impacts, improve fire resistance, provide universal access and incorporate photovoltaics and rainwater capture.

AJU chief operating officer Amy Latzer described how the campus handled a recent Sandy fire, saying the institution evacuated children and coordinated with first responders. "We had a bus come immediately, evacuate them from the site...the bus was there within a half hour," Latzer said, and added that AJU uses security at its front gate and maintains incident tracking and multiple egress options should primary roads be blocked.

Neighbors and nearby property owners praised AJU’s community role but urged firmer guarantees on secondary access during fast-moving wildfires. "I'm asking that AJ consider providing a secondary access route for its neighbors via the high road back gate access that benefits the broader area," said Ashley Holmes, a nearby trustee and property interest holder. Resident Don Vanderhorst said a 2021 survey required by Assembly Bill 2911 had not identified emergency access roads his subdivision uses and argued that additional capacity at the campus heightens the need to resolve evacuation routes.

Applicant supporters and representatives responded that emergency-access easements and knock-box/lockbox arrangements for fire personnel exist and that several improvements requested by the fire department — including road-width and gate-design changes — are incorporated into the recommended conditions. Jon Friedman, speaking for the applicant team, said the gate/easement arrangements provide an emergency route and that fire and law-enforcement officials would control access in an incident.

Commissioners pressed for clarity on wildfire procedures, native landscaping and water supply for fire suppression; staff and the applicants said the revised conditions and the EIR’s mitigation package address those concerns. The planning commission’s motion (mover: Commissioner Kesley; second: Commissioner Boysen) approved staff recommendations with the agreed conditions, including the fire-department modification to condition 90; roll call recorded the motion passing 5 to 0.

Key fact checks and figures: the project requests removal of 12 protected trees (three non-native heritage-sized trees, eight oaks and one sycamore) with mitigation via on-site replacement planting or payment into an in-lieu program; the applicant proposes planting about 110 replacement trees (roughly 77 native species). The draft EIR was released in December 2025, the comment period closed February 2 (year stated in the transcript), and the final EIR with responses was released in May 2026, according to staff.

The commission approved the final EIR and the CUP modification with conditions; the meeting record shows the commission moved on to other business and adjourned. The project remains subject to the listed conditions of approval and any required building, grading and fire-permitting processes before construction begins.