Lemon Farm May Be Site of Sonyland Park : Oxnard: Columbia Pictures and Sony’s plans for a high-tech theme attraction would face heavy scrutiny, officials say.

A lemon farming area on the outskirts of Oxnard is among the primary sites being considered for the construction of Sonyland, a high-tech theme park to be developed by Columbia Pictures Entertainment Inc., according to sources.

Speculation about the park on agricultural land near Etting and Wood roads has already sparked the interest of city and county officials who say they like the idea but doubt the project will succeed.

“It would certainly be an uphill battle to convert agricultural land to an amusement park,” said Keith Turner, the county’s planning manager.

To develop on land designated for agricultural use requires city, county and Local Area Formation Commission approval.

Columbia Pictures Entertainment announced this week that it has received approval from its Japanese owner, Sony Corp., to open Sonyland as a rival to such giants of the industry as Disneyland and Universal Studios.

Sources said the proposal is still being developed and declined to reveal costs or a construction schedule. However, they confirmed that the lemon farm spanning more than 2,000 acres near Oxnard is the primary site under consideration. Other sites were not mentioned.

County assessment records show that CBS Sony California Inc. owns about 950 acres of agricultural land at 4300 Etting Road. A property manager at the site referred all questions to Sony representatives in New York, who could not be reached for comment.

City and county officials said they would welcome the revenues generated by a major amusement park. But they believe the anti-growth sentiment in the county and bureaucratic red tape would ultimately kill the plan, despite the resources that Sony and Columbia may put into the project.

Supervisor John K. Flynn, whose district includes the Oxnard area, said the proposal would face tough scrutiny by county and Oxnard officials and would require a lengthy review by LAFCO.

“If it’s going to be in the unincorporated area, there are sewer issues, utility issues . . . “ he said.

In addition, he said he believes many residents would oppose development on agricultural land. “People are concerned about getting into agricultural lands,” he said.

Oxnard Mayor Nao Takasugi called the proposal exciting but said he wonders if the idea is realistic.

City officials have not been contacted by representatives of either Sony or Columbia, he said.

“I would think if something is being planned, their headquarters in New York would have contacted us,” Takasugi said.

Walton Yates, executive vice president of the Oxnard Chamber of Commerce, was unaware of the Sonyland proposal but said he would support a theme park that would attract tourists and generate revenue for the city.

“My first thought is it might be a good thing for the county,” he said.

Yates said a Sonyland amusement park may spark some resentment from residents who frown on foreign companies investing in large local projects.

“There is always some resentment, but investment money has to come from some place,” he said. “Sometimes it’s available locally, and sometimes it isn’t.”

For Millie Norman, acting director of the Oxnard Convention and Visitors Bureau, a theme park would provide a depressed local economy a much-needed boost.

“I would see that as something real beneficial for the area,” she said. “I think it would definitely generate revenue.”

Norman said the proposal would run into many zoning and planning obstacles unless the project were well planned. “I think Sony would do a good job,” she said.

Sonyland is not the first amusement park proposal considered in the area.

In 1986, Space Resorts Enterprise, a Los Angeles company, tried to sell Oxnard officials on the idea of building a futuristic space theme park on beachfront land in the southwest corner of the city.

Redevelopment Director Steven Kenney said planning officials chuckled and called the idea colorful but did not take the proposal too seriously.

The plan, which included a 150-room hotel designed to look like a space station, was ultimately rejected. Kenney said city officials felt the proposed developers did not have the money or resources to complete the project.