OXNARD : Council Approves Child-Care Center

Plans for the construction of a child-care center at the Oxnard Financial Plaza were approved by the Oxnard City Council this week although the city Planning Commission rejected the proposal last month.

The center will be built next to the Financial Plaza Hilton on Esplanade Drive. The facility’s 11,370-square-foot building and 20,800-square-foot playground area will accommodate up to 208 children.

The Planning Commission voted 4 to 2 against the plans because the site is next to the Ventura Freeway and subject to its pollution and noise.

Members questioned how easily emergency vehicles could reach the building, which would be in the corner of the parking lot.

Councilwoman Ann Johs, who appealed the commission’s ruling before the City Council, said children would not be on the playground during rush hours breathing the worst of the exhaust. She also pointed out that the section of the freeway running by the building is raised, so much of the smog would pass overhead.

Johs dismissed doubts about emergency vehicle access. “The Fire Department hasn’t raised that concern,” she said.

The center will be owned by Martin V. Smith Inc., which built the Financial Plaza complex and has its offices there.

It is expected to open by the end of next summer, said a company spokesman. Parents may use the child-care center even if they don’t work in the office complex.