County Sues Oxnard to Halt Factory Outlet Mall : Development: The lawsuit alleges that the city has failed to adequately assess the impact that the project would have on roads and air quality.

The day before Ventura County and Oxnard officials met to usher in a new spirit of cooperation, the county filed a lawsuit to block the city’s plans to build a factory outlet mall.

The county alleges that the Oxnard City Council failed to adequately assess the impact that the mall will have on air quality and county roads, and wants to halt the project’s advancement until the city conducts an in-depth environmental review.

A county official on Monday said he believes that Oxnard’s breakneck approach stems from its race with Camarillo to establish Ventura County’s first factory outlet mall.

“The city has moved very rapidly on this,” said county Public Works Director Arthur Goulet. “They obviously want to beat Camarillo.”

In a race to lure customers and their sales tax dollars, the two cities have competing proposals for a factory outlet center. Such centers--generally occupied by brand-name manufacturers selling their wares at a discount--have become popular tourist attractions in recent years.

The competition has been weighted by lawsuits, with each city now being challenged in court over its mall plans. And officials in both cities have traded charges and countercharges about cutting corners in the rush toward development.

Developers of both projects have said they are not confident that the region can support two malls and have stressed the importance of breaking ground first.

Oxnard shot into the lead last month when the City Council unanimously agreed to allow construction of a 284,000-square-foot center on 27 acres south of the Ventura Freeway between Rice and Rose avenues. The plans call for about 45 upscale stores that will employ more than 300 people and generate an estimated $1 million in sales tax revenue by the year 2000.

But the county lawsuit alleges that Oxnard, in its haste, failed to adequately review the center’s impact on the environment.

The lawsuit, filed in Superior Court on Nov. 17, alleges that the city sidestepped environmental laws by failing to accurately account for traffic generated by the outlet mall and other developments approved for the city’s booming northeast area.

Specifically, the county is concerned about an accurate portrayal of traffic congestion spilling onto roads outside the city.

“It’s interesting that the limits of their studies include the last intersections of the city and don’t go beyond that,” Goulet said. “The real world doesn’t work like that from our perspective.”

The county wants the court to set aside Oxnard’s approval of the factory outlet center, and force the city to conduct an in-depth environmental review complete with a plan on how to pay to improve county streets in the area.

But Oxnard officials said they have determined that the impact would be minimal on air quality and county roads; they note that all of that has been the subject of two environmental impact reports prepared for the area.

“The area has been studied to death already,” Oxnard City Manager Vern Hazen said Monday. “We didn’t let any grass grow under our feet, but we did everything according to the textbook.”

In addition, Hazen and others said they are dismayed over the county’s failure to communicate its concerns about the factory outlet mall.

“We have never filed suit for anything without extending the courtesy of calling and trying to work things out,” Hazen said. “Why they’ve chosen to act this way, I don’t know. The lawsuit is just specious as far as I’m concerned.”

County Board of Supervisors Chairman John K. Flynn said planners have talked to city staff about the county’s concerns, but nothing has worked so far.

“Filing a complaint is simply a way of getting their attention and getting them to the table,” said Flynn, who fears that traffic tie-ups will become commonplace unless the city is forced to take action. “We want to settle this immediately.”

City and county officials met last Wednesday to discuss various issues, and pledged to work together more closely. Two days later, Oxnard officials were served with notice of the suit, which was filed prior to their meeting.

Flynn said he believes the new City Council, which will be installed tonight, will be more willing to work with county officials.

“The era of cooperation still exists and it’s an absolute must,” Flynn said. “But it’s not a question of an era of good feeling, it’s a question of doing something that is an absolute necessity.”

The county’s lawsuit confirms what Camarillo officials have been charging since first stepping to the starting line with Oxnard in the great outlet mall race.

“I’ve asked questions every time I turn around to our city manager about how they can get things approved so quickly,” said Camarillo Councilman Mike Morgan. “We’ve never been able to do that.”

The Camarillo City Council has agreed to give developers a sales tax rebate to offset sewer and water costs if they build a 60- to 80-store outlet center. But the council has yet to approve specific plans for the project.

The Camarillo outlet mall has had its own setbacks, including a similar lawsuit that seeks to make the city retrace some steps before approving its mall. So far, Camarillo’s project has been lagging behind Oxnard’s in a race to complete plans that will attract the required financial investors.

“It’s not a question of who is first,” said Camarillo City Manager Bill Little. “The project that gets approved will be the one that gets the financing.”