OXNARD : Judge OKs District’s Condemnation Plan

A Ventura County Superior Court judge on Wednesday approved the Oxnard Union High School District’s condemnation of a 53-acre parcel at the northeast end of the city where the district plans to build a new high school.

Judge Richard D. Aldrich approved the district’s offer of $8.9 million to buy the property, situated near the southeast corner of Gonzales Road and Oxnard Boulevard.

The district initiated condemnation proceedings in April, 1991, said Gary Roach, an attorney representing the district. Certificates of participation, which are similar to bonds, were sold to raise money to buy the land.

The money was then deposited in a county treasurer’s account to secure the condemnation.

Roach said, however, that landowners contested the district’s offer, contending that the land was worth $11.7 million.

The issue has been tied up in court ever since.

“What this means is that we now own the property,” Robert Brown, the district’s business manager, said of Wednesday’s judgment.

Brown said the state has promised to fully reimburse the district for the $8.9 million it has spent to acquire the land.

He said the next step will be for the district to get the money necessary to build the school, which he said is desperately needed to reduce overcrowding at the district’s six campuses. He said the district is exploring a number of options to finance the new school, including placing a bond measure on the ballot in 1994.

In April, Oxnard voters rejected a $45-million bond measure that was to be used to build a seventh high school campus.