VENTURA : Council Overrules Building Permit

The Ventura City Council snubbed the city’s Planning Commission on Monday by turning down a project that had been approved by the commission in defiance of the city’s water conservation ordinance.

The council voted 6 to 1 to overrule the commissioners’ decision to grant Home Savings of America a permit for a new building on Victoria Avenue and Moon Drive. Councilman Jim Monahan cast the lone dissenting vote.

“It’s unfortunate that the Planning Commission, after recognizing that the project was not consistent with the water ordinance, went ahead and approved it,” said Vice Mayor Don Villeneuve. “It puts the council in a difficult position. But we have adopted an ordinance, and we have to be faithful to it or we will open a Pandora’s Box.”

On May 8, the Planning Commission unanimously approved the 13,332-square-foot Home Savings building. The project would replace two existing buildings.

The planning commissioners approved the project even though City Planner Ann Chaney had warned them to turn it down because the project would result in doubling the number of plumbing fixtures on the site--which would violate the city’s water ordinance. The new law prohibits any increase in plumbing fixtures.

Home Savings officials argued that their water-conservation measures, including low-flow plumbing fixtures and drought-resistant landscaping, would reduce the site’s water consumption beyond the 15% required by the ordinance.

In approving the project, the commission agreed that the facility would result in a net reduction of water on the site. They said it would not make sense to turn down a project that saves water.

But city water officials countered that it is doubtful that a project with more plumbing fixtures would save water in the long run. And the council agreed.

The decision is the latest chapter in a rift between the new slow-growth council and the commission, whose members were appointed by past councils and are generally more sympathetic toward new development.

Since a March moratorium on new hookups, planning commissioners have complained repeatedly about the council’s failure to consult them on the water ordinance. The moratorium on hookups, they said, has left them without the opportunity to influence city planning.