Mauling the Mall : Development: A plan to build a factory outlet center on agricultural land in east Camarillo awakens a grass-roots movement.

When Sammis Co. first proposed a factory outlet center two years ago for an 86.5-acre tract of farmland it had bought in 1985 in east Camarillo, the project appeared to have everything going for it.

But that was before a grass-roots movement that began in the town’s retired, white-collar community overwhelmed City Hall with an army of suburban activists.

Now the battle between the national development firm and its opponents over Camarillo’s vanishing farmland has thrown the future of the project in doubt.

In the end, the battle over 86.5 acres of celery could spawn a political movement that sweeps across the Oxnard Plain, say the activists’ leaders, who interrupted their retirement to fight for farmland.

But in the beginning, it seemed that the Sammis bid would be readily accepted by city leaders.

An economic study commissioned by the city in 1990 had concluded that constructing a factory outlet mall was the easiest way to stem the exodus of Camarillans--and their spending money--to shopping centers in neighboring cities.

The massive project’s outlet stores, specialty shops, hotel and recreation facilities could generate $2.3 million in annual tax revenues, according to the study. That would single-handedly save Camarillo from a budget crunch forecast for the mid-1990s, said the study’s authors, Economics Research Associates, a Los Angeles consulting firm.

For residents concerned about the farmland the project would displace, Sammis proponents cited Ventura County policies designed to protect open space by encouraging development within city boundaries.

Toward that end, Camarillo has de-annexed agricultural land south of Camarillo Airport, said Matthew A. Boden, the city’s planning director.

Sammis mounted a public relations effort to build support for its project, called Rancho Camarillo Plaza, that included a promotional “newspaper”--the Camarillo Courier--mailed to Camarillo households, and full-page ads in local papers.

But 10 homeowner associations near the project site joined to form the Ventura County League of Homeowners and took aim at the project.

Led by 73-year-old Bill Torrence and 59-year-old Bill Supri, the 100 members of the League of Homeowners mobilized residents across the city in a campaign that included demonstrations, petitions and letters to City Council members.

Torrence, the league’s president, said reports that developers had targeted a two-mile strip of land bordering the Ventura Freeway for a “high-technology corridor” heightened the anxiety of Camarillo residents, many of whom had left Los Angeles in search of open space and quiet suburbs.

“We want this ag land saved for future generations,” Torrence said, “and we want to use every tool we can to save it.”

When the city Planning Commission began its hearing Oct. 1, the league and others turned in more than 7,600 signatures of residents opposing the factory outlet center. By the time the City Council holds hearings next month, Torrence predicts that the opposition will have gathered 10,000 signatures.

Council members found themselves pulled in opposite directions.

“I’ve been surprised at the scope and strength of the opposition,” Mayor David Smith said. “It seems to have a momentum that appears to be building.”

But the mayor added that raw numbers alone could not tell the council how the community regards the Sammis project. He cited a recent Chamber of Commerce endorsement for a scaled-down project as evidence that some support for the project exists in Camarillo.

The intensity of the opponents’ campaign has clearly impressed some council members.

Councilman Ken Gose said he has received up to 300 letters from Camarillo residents, most of whom oppose the Sammis project. “This is the most controversial issue that I remember hearing about in the years I’ve lived here,” Gose said.

Councilman Mike Morgan said he had received a stack of letters 1 1/2 inches high, all opposing the loss of prime agricultural land. “There’s only so much prime ag land left in California, and when you cover it with pavement it’s gone forever,” Morgan said in summarizing the sentiments of the letter writers.

The response to the campaign came as no surprise to Torrence and Supri, whom Sammis President Russ Goodman referred to as “those two old guys leading the opposition.”

“This is a Ventura County problem, a grass-roots thing from people who are upset about the loss of agricultural land,” said Torrence, a business owner and community leader in Los Angeles County before moving to Camarillo in 1974.

He said the league has already made overtures to community leaders in Oxnard, Ventura and Fillmore in an effort to widen its campaign to preserve agricultural land. “I think if we beat the Sammis deal, you’ll see chapters all over the valley.”

Supri, who retired to Camarillo after a career in the Air Force, said that settling down has given him a chance to become involved. “I was always afraid to speak before a group of more than two or three people,” Supri said. “Now that I am part of something I believe in, I could speak to thousands.”

The two men say they have gotten a sympathetic response from many residents who want to retain the community’s semi-rural character.

Whether the campaign they started will ultimately prevail depends on the reaction of the City Council, and Mayor Smith noted that the well-organized lobbying will be hard to ignore.

“The opposition will be an important factor in the decision-making,” Smith said. “All the council members are paying attention to it--I know I am.”