Local News in Brief : Simi Group Launches Fight on Growth Curbs

A group of Simi Valley residents calling themselves Citizens United for a Better Simi Valley on Tuesday launched a campaign to defeat two ballot initiatives supported by slow-growth advocates in the city.

The new organization, formed by business leaders and property owners, is backing a less-restrictive pair of growth control measures endorsed by the Simi Valley City Council.

One ballot measure drawn up by the slow-growth group, called Citizens for Managed Growth, would prohibit grading of slopes of 10% or more for commercial and industrial projects. The other places annual limits on housing construction.

Hal Geer, a spokesman for Citizens United for a Better Simi Valley, said the group believes the slow-growth measures would destroy businesses, property and jobs “without compensation and an opportunity for the victims to be heard in the public forum.”