Camarillo and Oxnard in Race for Outlet Mall

Like two shoppers racing for the same bargain, Camarillo and Oxnard are in full sprint for the jobs and sales tax they would gain as the home of Ventura County’s first factory outlet mall.

Hoping to attract shoppers within the county as well as throughout the Los Angeles basin, officials for both cities envision doors opening in time for the 1993 Christmas shopping season.

But will those shoppers go to Camarillo Factory Stores or Oxnard Outlets?

Conventional wisdom is that they won’t be going to both, said Jeff Dritley, division president of the development company trying to build in Camarillo.

“Whether it’s true that the area can’t handle two outlet malls remains to be seen,” Dritley said. “But there’s a benefit in being the first one out of the ground.” Dritley said the malls will be fighting for the best manufacturers and chains.

Worried that only one mall will be built, officials from both cities are striving to be the first to approve an outlet.

The Irvine-based Koll Co. and the Leonard family of Camarillo have proposed a Camarillo outlet that would host 60 to 80 stores, employ 250 people and give the city $700,000 to $1 million in sales taxes by the year 2000, Dritley said. The 250,000-square-foot mall would lie south of the Ventura Freeway near Carmen Drive.

In Oxnard, the Carl M. Buck Building Co. of Los Angeles has proposed a 285,500-square-foot mall south of Ventura Freeway near Rice Avenue. The Oxnard outlet, which would house 45 stores and generate 325 new jobs, would put $800,000 to $1 million in the city’s coffers, according to John Cahill, a spokesman for the developer.

Spurred on by the Oxnard Planning Commission’s quick approval of that city’s mall, the Camarillo City Council agreed Wednesday to give Koll-Leonard a sales tax rebate to offset sewer and water costs. The rebate, which would last until 2014, would save the developer up to about $600,000, city officials say.

“This is the first time we’ve considered such a tax change, but the times have changed,” Assistant City Manager Larry Davis said. The next step in the process is for Koll-Leonard to submit its development application for review by the Planning Commission. It would then require an environmental report and public hearings before approval.

Vice Mayor Charlotte Craven said “the outlet is extremely important for Camarillo” because the city will no longer be receiving developers’ fees once the city “builds out,” as is predicted in 10 to 15 years.

But the clock is ticking on the factory mall race. The Oxnard City Council will hold a public hearing on the outlet proposal on Tuesday; Camarillo has yet to schedule one. Such speed has provoked criticism from Camarillo City Councilman Mike Morgan, who accused Oxnard of “skipping steps like crazy.”

“The last time we took a breath, Oxnard was running. I haven’t seen a project get approved so fast,” Morgan said.

But Oxnard City Councilwoman Dorothy Maron said her city isn’t in competition with Camarillo but is looking after its own self-interest.

“This is about self-defense,” Maron said. “To protect our city, we have to have our own tax dollars to finance services.”