MOORPARK : Disputes Arise in Bid to Widen Road

Efforts to widen a treacherous stretch of Tierra Rejada Road have embroiled Moorpark officials in disputes with three utility companies, an oil company and a developer over the project’s costs.

The City Council agreed Wednesday to settle with the developer, the Los Angeles-based Embassy Group, which canceled plans to build a mini-mart on Tierra Rejada Road. Embassy will pay more than $77,800 toward widening the two-lane section of Tierra Rejada between California 23 and Spring Road.

But the project is still stalled by disputes with an oil company and three utilities over who should pay for moving pipes as well as telephone and electrical lines under the road.

The widening project is designed to ease congestion and improve safety on the winding stretch of road, which is heavily used by commuters and has been the scene of many accidents, Mayor Paul W. Lawrason Jr. said.

City officials have tried to persuade the utilities and the oil company to pay a total of about $1 million to move their pipes and lines, Lawrason said.

So far, only Southern California Gas Co. has agreed to pay the full cost of moving its pipes, he said.

Directors of the Camrosa Water District have been meeting with Moorpark officials to hammer out a settlement over the $125,000 cost of moving 2,000 to 2,500 feet of water pipe.