Amgen is asking Thousand Oaks to approve a 75-foot, four-story building at its headquarters campus, a project that would require raising the area's height limit by 20 feet.

The Thousand Oaks Planning Commission took up the proposal at a public hearing Monday, Sept. 14, at the Andrew P. Fox City Council Chambers. The commission's role is to recommend approval or denial to the City Council, which will make the final decision. The outcome of Monday's hearing has not been made public.

The proposed building at 701 Pauling Drive would total approximately 378,862 square feet, including a subterranean basement, loading dock, rooftop equipment and landscaping. It sits within the Amgen Center Specific Plan area, zoned Industrial Park.

To build at 75 feet, Amgen needs the city to amend its Amgen Center Specific Plan. The current height cap in Height District 2 is 55 feet. The proposed increase to 75 feet would align with the Industrial Flex height standard in the city's 2045 General Plan.

The project also requires a Protected Tree Permit. Four oak trees on the site would be removed.

Ron Moss of Amgen Inc. is listed as the applicant on the public hearing notice, published Aug. 31. The city is preparing an environmental addendum under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), supplementing existing environmental reviews for the 2045 General Plan and the Amgen Center Specific Plan.

The permit application comes as Amgen expands its Thousand Oaks footprint. The biotech company, Ventura County's largest private-sector employer, broke ground on a $600 million center for science and innovation at its headquarters in October 2025.

That facility is expected to be completed in 2029, the Ventura County Star reported.

"As a global leader in biotech, Amgen could locate anywhere on the planet, but it chose Thousand Oaks," Mayor David Newman said at the October 2025 groundbreaking. He called the investment "the kind of high-value, innovation-driven investment that defines our city's economic future."

About 5,500 of Amgen's 28,000 employees were based in Thousand Oaks as of October 2025, down from about 8,000 in 2007, the Star reported.

No date has been announced for the City Council hearing on the project. Residents with questions can contact Nicole Katz in the Community Development Department at (805) 449-2338 or [email protected].