Oxnard OKs Regional Mall Despite Protests : Development: Rio Lindo residents criticize the plan. The city cites sales tax revenues as its justification.

Driven by the need to generate sales tax dollars for its cash-starved city, the Oxnard City Council unanimously approved construction of a regional shopping mall near Rose Avenue and Gonzales Road.

After a rowdy two-hour public hearing, at which Mayor Nao Takasugi was forced to bang his gavel several times to restore order, the council voted late Tuesday night to endorse the so-called Shopping at the Rose project, anchored by a Wal-Mart and a Sam’s Club discount store.

“If you’re looking at what is right for the entire city, then it is right to build here,” said Councilwoman Dorothy Maron, who offered her resignation should the development deal sour.

“Financially we will be doing well, and we on the council have to worry about finances,” Maron added. “These are uncertain times and whatever we can do to allay the fears of uncertain times, we have to do.”

The shopping center, a 592,000-square-foot complex that is expected to generate more than $2 million a year in new sales tax revenue for the city, is proposed for 62 acres just south of the Ventura Freeway.

Construction will begin in October and the project is scheduled to be completed about eight months after groundbreaking.

It is planned for an area that is home to the city’s auto center and a variety of other high-volume shopping outlets. City staff members predict that the city’s northeast side soon will become a powerful retail magnet that will draw customers from throughout Ventura County and beyond.

Another developer has proposed a large complex of factory outlets in an adjacent area, on Gonzales Road between Rose and Rice avenues. City officials have yet to review the proposal.

Area residents came out in force Tuesday night to oppose Shopping at the Rose.

They questioned the need for a new shopping center in Oxnard when so many retail outlets throughout the city remain vacant. And they charged that the new center would drive local merchants out of business.

Many opposed to Shopping at the Rose were residents of Oxnard’s Rio Lindo neighborhood, a tract of 770 homes immediately west of the project. Those residents complained about pollution and traffic that would be generated by the new center.

“You don’t have to live with this decision,” said Eleanor Branthoover, president of the Rio Lindo Neighborhood Council. “But we will have to live with it every day of the week, as long as we continue to live in the city of Oxnard.”

The project is expected to create as many as 1,500 jobs and generate $800,000 in new sales tax revenue in its first full year of operation.

By its 10th year of business, city staff has estimated, the project would generate $2.5 million in sales tax revenue that could go directly into the city coffers to pay for police, fire and other public services.

“We need revenue,” said Councilman Manny Lopez in explaining his decision to the more than 100 residents who packed the council chambers for a public hearing on the matter. “We’re at a situation where we can’t even keep our restrooms open in the park.”