OXNARD : Council Favors Local Government Group

Oxnard’s City Council on Tuesday adopted a policy that in effect bars the city from becoming a member of the Southern California Assn. of Governments. Instead, council members backed a possible SCAG counterpart for Ventura County.

Fearful that the city’s interests will be overshadowed if it joins the giant SCAG, council members voted 4 to 0 to back City Manager Vern Hazen’s proposal for “a strong association of governments in Ventura County.”

A Ventura County association, Hazen said, could coordinate land use and other government activities countywide.

“It is not in the city’s best interest for SCAG to become a more powerful regional government which would have more control over land use in Ventura County and in the city of Oxnard,” Hazen said in a recommendation adopted by the council.

Council members also voted 4 to 0, with Mayor Nao Takasugi absent, to oppose expanded powers for the countywide Assn. of Water Agencies. The organization, which now serves mainly as a communication link between county water purveyors, has proposed long-term objectives that include possible “legislative authority” to let it manage county water resources.

Several council members complained that Oxnard has never had a representative on the Assn. of Water Agencies’ board of directors. Councilwoman Geraldine W. Furr added: “I don’t see how any city can let someone take over their water decisions.”