VENTURA : Mayor Sees Danger of Mall’s Stores Moving to Oxnard

The city of Ventura is in danger of losing the San Buenaventura Mall’s largest stores to Oxnard, Mayor Richard Francis warned Tuesday in the annual State of the City address.

“Unless we bring in another anchor store, the ones that are there now may leave, and east Ventura could become another redevelopment zone,” Francis told about 150 members of the Greater Ventura Chamber of Commerce at the Harbortown Marina Resort Hotel.

Francis said it is no coincidence that JC Penney has signed just a six-year lease with mall owners. “Six years from now is when the Oxnard Town Center is scheduled to be completed. If JC Penney’s leaves, we will be in trouble.”

JC Penney Store Manager Mike Ward said, however, that he knows of no plans for the store to leave Ventura.

Francis asked the chamber--for the past year at odds with the new slow-growth City Council--to set aside its grievances and help the city find another large department store for the mall.

“A new store will bring in added traffic, and we need your help in convincing the public” that the added traffic is a necessary evil, Francis said.

In his speech, which received a prolonged round of applause, Francis highlighted the steps taken by the City Council to improve public safety, parks and recreation programs, downtown revitalization and the city’s water supply.

“All of these problems have been around for over 30 years, but this is the first council that bites the bullet and decides to do something about it,” he said.

Chamber officials said they are pleased with the City Council’s recent attempts to improve relations with the business community after a yearlong confrontation over the pace of the city’s growth and the tough water conservation program imposed by the city in March.

“They’re coming around, we sense the change,” chamber President Gene Daffern said.

“I think the citizens expressed their frustration to them, and the council is trying to react to that.”