Windward Shores

Windward Shores is three short loops off Triunfo Canyon Road on the lake’s western arm. Windward Circle came first, in 1973, on the smallest lots in the neighborhood, about 3,700 square feet. Topsail and Leeward circles followed in 1976 on lots of about 5,500 square feet. Each circle has lakefront homes that back onto the water and homes on the inner side that face a greenbelt leading down to the lake.

Because the circles only connect to Triunfo Canyon Road, there is no through traffic. Westlake Island is just across the water.

There are five original plans, numbered 1 through 5. Four are single-story. They were drawn in a tight range, about 1,600 to 2,450 square feet, with a two-car garage on the street and the living room and main bedroom facing the water or the greenbelt. Vaulted ceilings and an atrium or entry courtyard are common.

The most common sizes are about 1,800 and 2,000 square feet—single-story plans with three bedrooms and two baths. A few homes have been expanded or rebuilt; the largest, rebuilt in 2010, is about 4,500 square feet.

Drawings on file for the tract. Other plans, elevations and options may have been offered.

Price here depends mostly on whether a home is on the water. Lakefront homes have a patio, a seawall and a private dock. Greenbelt homes use the path to the water and pay lower lake dues. The lots are small, so the outdoor space is a patio rather than a yard.

Every owner pays two associations. The Windward Shores association, at $300 to $325 a quarter on recent sales, maintains the greenbelt and common landscaping and reviews exterior changes. The Westlake Lake Management Association owns and runs the lake. Its dues are higher for lakefront lots with docks, about $2,000 a year, than for greenbelt lots, about $1,000, according to recent listings.

Westlake Lake is private. Boats are limited to 18 feet, powerboats must be electric, and the speed limit is 5 miles per hour. Swimming, paddleboards, inflatables and jet skis are not allowed, and fishing requires an annual association badge. Docks and seawalls are regulated by the lake association, so ask for the dock permit file and any seawall records in escrow.

Windward Shores is on the Ventura County side, in the Conejo Valley Unified School District: Westlake Elementary, Colina Middle School and Westlake High School. The Los Angeles County side of the lake is in Las Virgenes Unified, so confirm the assignment for a specific address with the district.

By the mid-1970s copper supply lines were standard, but they are now about fifty years old, and repiping is a common item in remodeled listings. Also check for Zinsco or Federal Pacific panels, and run a sewer camera, since the homes sit on graded fill beside the lake. Additions and second stories go through the neighborhood association, the lake association and the City of Thousand Oaks.

With about 98 homes, sales are rare. 8 homes sold in the last two years, from $1,500,000 to $5,800,000, with a median of $2,438,460.

Westlake Island, across the water, has larger homes, many of them two-story, every one with its own dock, behind a guard gate, and a wider price range. Windward Shores is the single-story, ungated version on the mainland. Lakeshore, on the east end of the lake, offers attached homes with community docks at a much lower price.