Housing, Shops Proposed for Ormond Beach : Development: Navy officials, residents and environmentalists voice their concerns. A plan is expected in January.

Ormond Beach, on Oxnard’s southern tip, is so remote that only two roads reach it. Yet the largely undeveloped shoreline has been the proposed site of some of the most colorful and costly development projects in the county.

The proposals included a regional airport, a golf course, a horse-racing track and most recently a multimillion-dollar, marina-based residential community. The most unusual suggestion was a futuristic theme park, complete with a simulated space station, shuttle rides and zero-gravity booths.

Most of the projects were rejected by city planning officials who felt that the potential developers did not have the money or resources to complete their projects.

Now city officials believe that they have a viable developer for the land.

The Baldwin Co., an Irvine-based development firm, is drafting a proposal for the beach that will include about 4,100 housing units, a shopping center and at least one school.

That development accounts for only about 400 of the 1,000 acres of property Baldwin controls at Ormond. Company officials said they have not decided what they will build on the remaining 600 acres of land that abuts the shoreline.

“We have no preconceived ideas about what should go in that area,” said Steven D. Zimmer, executive vice president of the Baldwin Co.

He said the company will present a draft plan for the entire area in January.

Development of Ormond is noteworthy because it is one of the last remaining stretches of undeveloped shoreline in Ventura County. For years, industry has coexisted uneasily with agriculture, wetlands and beach at Ormond.

While the future is still unclear for Ormond, what is clear is that the Baldwin Co. will face a slew of local interest groups who will scrutinize any proposed development for the beach.

At a recent public meeting to discuss Ormond development, residents, environmentalists and others voiced opinions.

Environmentalists said they hope Baldwin will preserve the 200 acres of wetlands that are believed to be the home for more than 200 species of birds, 35 species of fish and 190 species of squirrels, opossums, skunks and raccoons.

“There is no way you can put development in that area without an environmental impact,” said Roma Armbrust, chairwoman of the Ormond Beach Observers, an environmental group dedicated to the preservation and restoration of the wetlands.

Nearby residents said they want the company to eliminate several industries by the shore, especially an aluminum recycling plant with a dumping pond that has spawned lawsuits from the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the California Coastal Commission and Ventura County.

City officials are so concerned about the pond next to the Halaco aluminum recycling plant that they decided last month to pay for soil tests to determine whether the pond is leaking dangerous chemicals into the wetlands.

Residents also suggested that Baldwin include bicycle paths, parkland, parking, walking paths and more beach access.

Officials from the Pacific Missile Test Center, which would border any Ormond development, said they are concerned that a residential development close to the test center may interfere with the Navy’s operations.

Capt. Ron Lewis said he fears that residents in an Ormond development may begin to complain about noise generated by jets taking off from the test center. Those complaints may eventually reach members of Congress, who could force the Navy to reduce its activities at the center, he said.

City redevelopment officials said they will only support a plan that has addressed the concerns of all interested groups. They also said they will support a development proposal that will clean up the hodgepodge of industrial uses near the beach.

Industrial firms have done so much damage to the wetlands, City Councilwoman Dorothy Maron said, that they look “like the face of the moon.”

Baldwin and Oxnard officials said it is still unclear who will pay to clean up any contaminated soil left behind by the industrial sites near Ormond.

In an effort to get input from residents and other government agencies, Baldwin and the city of Oxnard held two public discussions at a recreation center this month.

During one of the meetings, Redevelopment Director Steven Kenney said he believes the Baldwin Co. has the experience to draft a proposal that is more acceptable and realistic than many past suggestions.

Among the most colorful proposals for the area was a space resort, he said.

In 1986, a Los Angeles company called Space Resorts Enterprise submitted an idea to the city that was described in a brochure as “more captivating in its fantasy than a Disney theme park and as luxurious and sophisticated as an exclusive resort.”

The plan included a 150-room hotel designed to look like a space station, a health spa and a “120-feet-diameter dome with hands-on space exhibits.”

The developer said in the brochure that the project had a potential for generating huge tax revenues for the city.

“Numerous spinoffs such as clothing, luggage, personal accessories and software can be created with a space resort theme, capturing the ‘Star Wars’ audience.”