City Aware of Potential for Flooding at RV Park : Ventura: No records of a required warning system can be found. But some say water rose so fast it would have made little difference.

When developer Arnold Hubbard asked seven years ago for permission to build a recreational vehicle park at the mouth of the Ventura River, Ventura city officials openly discussed the danger of a potential flood.

While approving the project, they required Hubbard to implement a “warning system” to alert guests if waters rose.

But when the river jumped its banks about 9:15 a.m. Wednesday, that requirement made little difference. The Ventura Beach RV Resort was flooded in minutes, and Ventura officials could not find any records showing that a flood warning system had ever been devised.

“I have no knowledge or evidence of whether it was there or not,” said Community Development Director Everett Millais, recalling that the warning plan was to have been approved by city officials before issuance of the park’s building permit.

“I’m just certain that that was filed,” said Janice Manjoras, Hubbard’s secretary.

The city will look into the issue, Millais said. But he added that the question may be moot since the river rose in just 10 minutes and “there’s really no early warning that could have made any effect.”

Hubbard, who was on the scene warning guests as the water rose, said he received a warning call from authorities on Wednesday morning, as the plan dictated. But it came only 30 minutes before the water began to rise dramatically in the park, he said.

“We got a little warning that the river was rising, but we didn’t know it had flowed out of its banks,” he said. Hubbard said he was able to warn some guests early enough for them to drive to safety, but soon, he said, “the water started rising about an inch a minute.”

Once it reached waist level, he said, he retreated to higher ground and watched the torrents sweep RVs into the sea.

After looking down on the scene from a helicopter, Hubbard blamed local government officials for failing to keep the riverbed clear.

“There were trees and debris and islands in the river, blocking it,” he said. “The river could have held 10 times the water that came down here without hurting us, if it had been properly maintained.”

Hubbard estimated damage to his property at $1 million. The park clubhouse is covered by insurance, but the rest of the property is not, he said. Hubbard said he didn’t know if his policy would cover damage to the vehicles of guests.

The Ventura City Council approved plans for the Ventura Beach RV Resort in 1985 on a 4-3 vote, after prolonged wrangling over the project’s size, location, safety and environmental impact.

Dennis Orrock, a Ventura attorney who served as mayor in 1985, recalled that one concern was “that there would be adequate warning time (in the event of a flood) to move people and personal property.”

“That’s why it was pared back and put on the highest portion of ground,” Orrock said, “and designed in such a manner that you didn’t have raw sewage or pollutants that would be coming off site.”

Orrock noted that a few years before, in 1979, the Ventura River had overflowed its banks in the same area, forcing temporary closure of the Main Street Bridge and the Ventura Freeway.

Drawing on recommendations from an environmental impact report, the city limited the 20-acre property to 144 RV units, and required a variety of measures to protect surrounding riparian wildlife.

The council also required that “a flood warning system shall be implemented . . . reviewed and approved by the city planner prior to issuance of building permits.”

Building permits were later issued, city officials said, and the state Coastal Commission approved the project. The park opened in 1988.

“It turned out to be a well-used, well-received facility in the community, and I think it’s also been an economic boon to the downtown shopping areas,” said Orrock, who voted against the project in 1985.

Until Wednesday, Orrock said, the RV park had been a “pleasant surprise.”