Developer Drops Plans for Oxnard Project : Growth: An Orange County company changes its course and proposes a much smaller community for the Ormond Beach area.

After three years of battling environmentalists and concerned area residents, an Orange County developer announced Wednesday that it is withdrawing a proposal for one of the biggest housing and commercial projects ever considered in Oxnard.

Instead, the firm said, it will draft a new proposal for developing the Ormond Beach area that would house less than half the more than 20,000 new residents originally expected to populate the planned community.

The decision by the Baldwin Co. of Irvine to dramatically scale down its controversial Ormond Beach development followed the Oxnard Planning Commission’s adoption last week of a General Plan that limits growth in that area.

“After talking with the public, we didn’t think it appropriate to carry forward any further,” said Steven D. Zimmer, executive vice president of the firm. “It didn’t seem to be in the best interest of everyone.”

The move was seen by some critics of the project as an example of what they perceive as a subtle trend in Oxnard--historically known for its pro-development stance--toward slower growth.

“I’m definitely happy,” said Roma Armbrust, an environmentalist who fought the project because of concern about wetlands as chairwoman of a group called the Ormond Beach Observers.

“I would think as you walk the streets of Oxnard that there is more and more fear that the quality of life will be diminished if the rate of growth continues at the speed it is going,” Armbrust said.

Oxnard Councilwoman Dorothy Maron, who said she was disappointed that plans for the marina-based project had disintegrated, said she also believes that people in Oxnard are becoming more vocal in their concerns about the environment and growth.

“I think we are seeing people who want to be heard,” Maron said.

The company originally proposed a 3,000-acre project that would have included 10,500 houses, two hotels, two golf courses, two shopping centers and a boardwalk along a marina with 16,000 to 18,000 boat slips, Zimmer said.

The project, which was estimated to cost hundreds of millions of dollars to complete, was contingent on the city expanding its sphere of influence--land outside the city that is governed by the General Plan--by about 3,500 acres.

But the commission, beset by numerous complaints about the marina project, decided instead to expand the city’s sphere of influence by 86 acres in another part of the city.

The Baldwin Co. could have waited to see if the General Plan would be altered in its favor when it comes before the City Council at the end of August. But Zimmer said the company will bow to the community’s concern.

A number of groups over the years have criticized the project along the beach, where heavy industry, wetlands and agriculture coexist.

Among those who expressed concerns were the U.S. Navy, whose Pacific Missile Test Center grounds are south of the proposed development; Southern California Edison, which operates a power plant near the proposed marina, and the Ormond Beach Observers.

Indeed, the Baldwin Co. plans to consult with environmentalists and area residents about new plans for a smaller area development--something the company neglected to do before planning the first project, Zimmer said.

The Baldwin Co. will develop a significantly different project of 4,100 houses on between 1,000 and 1,200 acres, Zimmer said.

The project probably will not be ready for the council’s consideration until the first part of next year, Zimmer said.