Mid-Town Apartment Applications Rejected

The Ventura City Council has voted to block the development of apartment units in a mid-town neighborhood of predominantly single-family homes.

The action on Monday was spurred by a group of residents who hoped to save the quaint neighborhood from the congestion and safety problems they said would be caused by additional construction.

Of the 130 lots in the area--bounded by Thompson Boulevard, Hurst Avenue, Main Street and Chrisman Avenue--more than 75% hold single-family homes.

In rezoning the neighborhood to a lower level of housing density, the council rejected the applications of three property owners who had requests pending to build additional units onto single-family homes.

“I don’t believe three properties are going to tremendously affect that area,” said Steve Tobias, a property owner whose plans were rejected.

Other residents, however, said the area already had been adversely affected by recent development.

“The worst possible scenario for the three developers is that they could sell their property and make a nice profit,” said Dennis Lang, a leader of the neighborhood group. “The worst possible scenario for us is that we will have to live with the results of their greed.”