OXNARD : Child-Care Center Proposal Rejected

Saying the idea was good but the location was wrong, the Oxnard Planning Commission on Thursday rejected a proposal for an 11,370-square-foot child-care center for employees at the Financial Plaza complex on Esplanade Drive.

The proposal was submitted by Martin V. Smith Inc., the development company that built the 22-story Union Bank building at the center of the complex.

The commission voted 4 to 2 to reject the proposal, with Chairman Tony Grey and Commissioner Ralph Schumacher supporting the project. Commissioners Albert Duff, Edward Flores, Stella Spray and Manuel Perez voted against it.

Grey said Friday that a majority of the commissioners rejected the project because it would have been too close to the noise and pollution generated by the Ventura Freeway.

They also said the center did not provide adequate access for emergency vehicles, Grey said.

A spokesman for the developer said the company would appeal the decision to the City Council.

Oxnard planning officials said the project would have been the first child-care center of its size in the city operated solely by a private business. Other such centers have been built in Ventura and Moorpark.

The one-story structure would have had a 20,800-square-foot outdoor playground and would have accommodated up to 208 children.