CAMARILLO : Planning Panel Says No to Gas Station

The Camarillo Planning Commission has voted to reject a service station at the corner of Camarillo Springs Road and Ridgeview Drive.

The 5-0 vote Tuesday night came after more than 20 residents appeared before the commission to protest the proposed gas station, citing fears of increased noise, vandalism and accidents. After the vote, residents applauded and cheered.

The controversy involved Ventura Pacific Capital Co.’s request to build a 14,000-square-foot retail building and service station at the intersection of Camarillo Springs and Ridgeview, which is an extension of Adohr Lane.

“We have no need of a gas station,” said Kenneth Holden, president of the Palmeras homeowners association. “There are three within two minutes of where I live.”

A gas station would attract cars from the freeway and add to noise and pollution, residents said.

“With cars going up and down the ramp, we’ll never get any peace and quiet at night,” said Holden’s wife, Doris. She said most people in her neighborhood work and go to bed early.

A station would also increase the likelihood of accidents, said Jon LeConey, president of the Tierras homeowners association. He pointed out that the entrance and exit ramps of the southbound Ventura Freeway lie side-by-side and confuse drivers, who sometimes go up the wrong ramp.

Most residents are aware of the confusion, LeConey said. But if a stream of out-of-town drivers use the ramps, “there will be accidents,” he said. “I guarantee it.”

Several residents said the station may endanger the lives of neighborhood children.

“We need a park or recreational center or even an empty field for the kids,” said Michelle Benedict, a member of the Miramonte homeowners association.

“The kids are forced to play in the street,” Benedict said. “We’re scared to death some car will come speeding around the corner one day and hit them.”

Residents were also worried about vandalism, litter and the smell of gasoline, which they said would eventually decrease property values.

In a slide show presentation, representatives from Ventura Pacific Capital Co. offered to plant trees at 40-foot intervals along Ridgeview Drive and to build the station with an “Old World” clay tile design.

Many of the homeowners who attended the meeting were not impressed.

“They can show us all these fancy decorated drawings to convince the Planning Commission that the gas station is a beautiful thing,” Holden said. “But a gas station is a gas station, no matter how much you whitewash it.”

The decision can be appealed to the City Council.