Council Puts Hold on Plans for Camarillo Industry Zone

Indefinitely blocking plans to create the largest industrial zone in Camarillo, the City Council has set aside plans for a massive business park between the Camarillo Airport and the Ventura Freeway.

The action pleased a recently formed group of community activists attempting to curb commercial growth that cuts into “the residential character of the community.”

The 4-1 vote late Wednesday night means that the council will not consider the Airport North Specific Plan for at least one year.

Project’s Specifications

The plan, written by a private consultant and adopted by the Camarillo Planning Commission, specifies traffic and utility improvements and recommends that the project be built in an “early-California” style, featuring red-tiled roofs and stucco exteriors.

No developers have as yet submitted proposals.

Airport North would spread west of Las Posas Road over 337 acres of farmland now used to grow broccoli, lettuce and tomatoes. About 130 acres are unincorporated county land and would have to be annexed by the city for development to proceed.

If fully developed in 20 years as envisioned, the park would include 3.7 million square feet of industrial, office and commercial space. The plan calls for a hotel with at least 135 rooms.

Mayor Sandi Bush said the plan was not approved because the city has sufficient industrial space. Council members were concerned that traffic would be jammed by the estimated 30,000 daily car trips Airport North would add if fully developed.

According to city planning department figures, 2.4 million square feet of industrial space in Camarillo is either under construction or has been approved by city officials. Several buildings sit vacant.

“Ultimately, it will be developed into industrial and commercial space,” Bush predicted.

Opposition Group

The Airport North plan came under fire from the Assn. of Camarillo Residents, a group formed March 25 with the objective of retaining the city’s small-town flavor.

The group has assailed plans to allow oil drilling in the city’s Mission Oaks area and the pending move of an Air National Guard unit from Van Nuys Airport to the Point Mugu Naval Air Station.

As to the Airport North plan, the group objects to the potential loss of prime farm land, added traffic and the prospect of air pollution from industrial plants.

“We like Camarillo the way it is,” declared Thomas Rusch, the association’s president and a political science professor at California State University, Los Angeles.

“The city hasn’t digested everything it’s approved. This project isn’t necessary,” Rusch said.