WEST COUNTY : OXNARD : Judge Says Ex-Owner Can Visit Motel

The former owner of the Lemon Tree Motel won a small victory in her battle against Oxnard when a Ventura County Superior Court judge rejected the city’s request for a temporary restraining order that would ban her from entering the motel.

The ruling allows Bertha Ochoa to visit friends and relatives at the 25-year-old motel, which the city has acquired from her under eminent domain proceedings, said Peter M. Kuetzing, a lawyer representing the city.

Ochoa was arrested Monday for defying an earlier court order that forced her to leave the motel.

Ochoa returned to the motel to visit her daughter but left voluntarily Tuesday after city officials accused her of inciting tenants against the city.

City officials contend that the motel is the center of drug deals and prostitution and plan to demolish the aging building. Ochoa denied the allegations and said the motel is one of the city’s last sources of low-income housing.

Kuetzing said he asked Superior Court Judge Bruce A. Thompson on Thursday to ban Ochoa from entering the site.

Thompson rejected the request but ordered a hearing Aug. 24 to give the city another opportunity to prove that Ochoa should be banned.