Revamping underway at marina

After years of battle over its future, Channel Islands Harbor in Ventura County is showing signs of life, with the opening of a new hotel, a revitalized shopping and restaurant complex, and concrete piers.

But it will still take several years, and millions more in private investments, before the 60- year-old marina is fully rehabilitated, Harbor Director Lyn Krieger told the county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. Krieger outlined a number of changes already underway at the county- owned harbor.

She also spoke of other amenities, including bike paths, walking lanes, better lighting, more landscaping, additional dry dock storage and small pocket parks, that could be part of the 2,000-slip harbor’s future. Supervisors are considering the improvements as the county moves toward adoption of the harbor’s growth plan, expected early next year.

“We’re trying to hit that stride,” said Supervisor Steve Bennett, calling the harbor, located about an hour north of Los Angeles near Oxnard, a valuable but underused county asset.

Supervisor Kathy Long had one recommendation: “Faster, faster, faster.”

Changes to the harbor have been mired in local controversy for years. Nearby residents, worried that too much development will detract from its quiet, low-key ambience, have successfully slowed down changes. One opposition group, Habitat for Hollywood Beach, has managed to win delays in the courts on a proposed boating safety center that would be built near beachfront homes. The project is expected to go before the California Coastal Commission for a second time in coming weeks.

Objections to harbor redevelopment have grown so heated, Krieger told supervisors, that the Harbor Department hired a consultant to help keep the peace at public hearings. In August, about 180 residents turned out for a public workshop to hear about possible harbor improvements and to suggest their own, Krieger said.

Preston Davis, who lives on his boat at the harbor, said he attended the August meeting and was not impressed. “It was an agenda being shoved down my throat,” Davis said.

But Penny Boehm, who represents harbor business owners and also attended, said the workshop proved productive.

“It had a rough beginning,” she said. “But 99% of those showing up were there for the right reason.”

Steve Bunger, owner of the Harbor Marine Emporium, a shopping and office complex, told supervisors that business owners and investors would be closely gauging the board’s support for harbor revitalization.

Board members have consistently supported improvements, but usually on a split vote. Supervisor John Flynn, whose district includes the harbor, has been critical of many of the changes.

But on Tuesday, he supported the update given by Krieger.

“We’re counting on it,” Bunger told supervisors, “because we’re investing a lot of money.”

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catherine.saillant@latimes.com