COUNTYWIDE : Study Says 3 Sites for Campus Are Viable

A study on the environmental impacts of building a state university in Ventura County reveals that all three sites being considered appear to be viable, officials said Monday.

However, more study is needed to determine whether a site in unincorporated south Oxnard has hazardous wastes left over from oil field operations, said David Leveille, director of institutional relations for the California State University system.

Leveille said university officials are contacting the previous oil field operators to determine how much waste remains on the property. The cost of a complete geological analysis of the property would have been prohibitive, he said.

The environmental impact report evaluated the effects on air quality, traffic and water supplies that would result if a campus were built on land in south Oxnard, east of Ventura or west of Camarillo.

Officials said no details of the study will be available until the final document’s release June 13. The report will help Cal State trustees decide in September whether to build a four-year campus in Ventura County and where.

The south Oxnard site, known as the Donlon property, sits between Rose and Rice avenues south of Wooley Road in an unincorporated pocket.

The east Ventura site, owned by the Pinkerton family and several other interests, is south of Foothill Road and east of the city of Ventura. The Camarillo site, owned by the Duntley Trust and the Chaffee family, is near the California Youth Authority facility, north of the Ventura Freeway and northeast of Central Avenue.