MOORPARK : Tougher Industrial Zoning Law Studied

The Moorpark City Council is considering revising its zoning ordinance to make it more difficult for new industrial businesses to locate near residential neighborhoods, a proposal that has already touched off some heated responses from business owners.

The council at its Dec. 16 meeting will decide whether new businesses wanting to locate in industrial parks adjacent to homes will require conditional use permits--even if they comply with existing zoning regulations.

The council was originally scheduled to consider the issue at its meeting Wednesday, but decided to postpone it.

During Wednesday’s meeting, Anthony Annotti, who currently owns two 10,000-square-foot industrial parks in Moorpark, blasted the city for trying to restrict the use of buildings already pre-conditioned when they were built.

“What they are now trying to do is place a restriction on that property that says all the conditions that were agreed to are no longer agreed to anymore,” Annotti said after the meeting.

Applicants for conditional permits pay the city $2,268 as an up-front deposit on processing costs and can wind up paying more depending on the complexity of the review.

City officials came under attack during the recent City Council elections for over-regulating businesses that are already suffering because of the recession.

New Councilman Patrick Hunter was particularly critical during his campaign of the city’s failure to support existing businesses and attract new ones.

Hunter this week was surprisingly noncommittal on the zoning issue, saying he had not yet decided whether a new business replacing one just like it should have to apply for the conditional-use permit.

Councilman Scott Montgomery said the city may not need to require the conditional permits if it develops a more precise list of businesses it considers appropriate near residential areas.

“I think there is a line that we can walk that will allow us to exercise oversight without the layer of bureaucracy,” he said.