VENTURA : City Authorizes Talks on Courthouse

The city of Ventura agreed Monday to negotiate with an Orange County developer to build a courthouse in downtown Ventura for the state 2nd District Court of Appeal.

The agreement precludes the city from entertaining other proposals for development at the corner of Santa Clara and Figueroa streets downtown until March, when the development firm will learn whether it has won the contract from the state to build the courthouse. After the end of March, new agreements can be signed.

Developer Hall, Moore and Co. proposes to build a 24,000-square-foot Victorian-style courthouse to provide permanent offices for seven 2nd District judges and about 45 employees. The building would replace cramped quarters in rented space in east Ventura that is now being used. The building would include a 58-space parking lot for the public and another 49 spaces in a secured underground lot for employees.

The building is not permitted under the city’s water-rationing ordinance, but the developer’s promise to plant low-water-using shrubs could allow the courthouse to operate with the same amount of water used by the existing residents and the city lot, officials said.

Councilman Jim Monahan, the lone dissenting vote, urged his colleagues not to approve the agreement because he said it would give preferential treatment to the court at a time when other developments have to wait.

But Mayor Richard Francis said a courthouse would help with the city’s plans to revitalize its downtown area.