OXNARD : Council to Consider Site for Cal State

Oxnard’s City Council is considering a proposal to endorse the Chaffee/Duntley site as the preferred choice for a California State University campus in western Ventura County.

The Chaffee/Duntley site, located in the greenbelt between Oxnard and Camarillo just north of the Ventura Freeway, is one of three sites being considered by Cal State trustees for the university campus.

The other two are the Donlon property, just east of Oxnard, and the Sudden Ranch site, northeast of Ventura.

A resolution endorsing the Chaffee/Duntley site will be discussed by the council Tuesday.

In a report to the council, city planner Matthew Winegar said the Chaffee/Duntley site was the best option because it is near Ventura, Oxnard and Camarillo, and easily accessible from eastern Ventura County on highways 126, 118 and 101.

“The site also appears to have the most favorable physical environmental conditions of the three sites being considered,” Winegar said. “The Sudden Ranch site has circulation, water, and geologic problems. The Donlon site has soil contamination problems from existing oil extraction activities.”

The report also cited the willingness of the Chaffee/Duntley site’s two property owners to sell their property and the political support for that site from the Camarillo City Council as additional favorable considerations.

The Donlon property has several owners with varying degrees of interest in selling their properties, and the Sudden Ranch site has failed to capture the support of the Ventura City Council.

Winegar said that being located in a greenbelt and near a California Youth Authority facility was a liability for the Chaffee/Duntley site. But nonetheless, he said, it remained the best choice.