MEINERS OAKS : Developer to Drop 50-House Project
A Santa Barbara developer who waged a controversial, five-year battle to build a subdivision in Meiners Oaks has finally thrown down the trowel.
John J. Schuck of Franciscan West Developments withdrew his building plans Thursday for 50 houses on a 25-acre meadow along Besant Road.
His decision came after the state Supreme Court declined to hear his lawsuit against Ventura County.
The development was stopped when county supervisors adopted an ordinance in 1988 that bans new subdivisions in Ojai Valley if they would increase traffic on California 33 through Casitas Springs.
Schuck tried to prove that his project was submitted for review before the moratorium was considered. But he lost ground when he changed the project from 52 to 50 houses.
The appellate court considered the revised plan a new project that fell under the moratorium.
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