Moorpark Takes Step Toward Annexing Land

The Moorpark City Council on Wednesday took a step toward annexing more than 4,000 acres of unincorporated county land, a move that would increase the city’s size by 50% and pave the way for about 3,000 new houses.

The council voted unanimously to schedule a presentation before Ventura County’s Local Agency Formation Commission to justify the planned expansion and discuss a new city General Plan adopted by the council in May.

Councilman Scott Montgomery also suggested that the city formally apply to expand its sphere of influence to incorporate the land, but the majority of the council did not support his proposal.

Mayor Paul Lawrason said the city should make the presentation to LAFCO and follow up with a formal application. “I’d like to give them a large bite to digest, with a very clear understanding that we would most likely be coming in after that with an application,” he said.

Messenger Investment Co., an Irvine-based developer, owns about 4,000 of the 4,300 acres that the city is seeking to annex. Messenger has tentatively planned to build 3,000 houses, at least one golf course, an equestrian center and retail space on the property located just northeast of the city limits.

If the annexation and the development are approved, Moorpark’s total acreage would increase from just under 8,000 to more than 12,000 and its population of 26,000 could jump to 35,000--based on the Messenger project alone.

Jeff Gordon, senior vice president for Messenger, said after the meeting that he was happy the council was moving forward with the presentation.

“Anything’s progress at this point,” he said. “To make the presentation is a step in the right direction. I would like to have seen the application at the same time.”

Messenger project manager Gary Austin said it will take 15 years of construction to build the entire project. More than half of Messenger’s 4,000 acres will be left as open space, including an 1,800-acre section next to Happy Camp Canyon Regional Park, Austin said.

As part of the annexation process, the city must first ask LAFCO to expand its sphere of influence to include the 4,300-acre area, said Stan Eisner, LAFCO executive director.

If the board approves increasing Moorpark’s sphere of influence, the city could then apply for annexation, he said. In both cases, LAFCO considers a wide variety of issues in deciding whether to allow a city to expand, he said.

“Among them are the reasonableness of the annexation, how much real need there is for the community to expand itself in terms of usable space that may already be available, open-space land issues (and) the ability of the city to serve the proposed area,” Eisner said.

Montgomery said before the meeting that the annexation made sense for the city.

“I think it offers some very unique opportunities that will benefit the people who live here now,” Montgomery said. “From a regional perspective, it makes a lot more sense to develop land such as this that is not agricultural, and relieve pressure to develop the more viable agricultural lands.”

Separate from the annexation request, Messenger and the city are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding that will outline the developer’s intentions and list the fees that the city will require of the firm before planning begins, Messenger and city officials said.

The memorandum is likely to come before the council at its Jan. 6 meeting, Jim Aguilera, the city’s director of community development, said Wednesday.

The proposed memorandum, under review by city staff, would require Messenger to make a one-time, $100,000 payment to the city for having been included in the city’s General Plan Update. The developer did not pay the fees asked of other developers while the project was being processed because its land is now located outside the city.

Austin said the city is also seeking a $25,000 deposit from Messenger to cover the cost of city staff’s review of the project.

Possible Moorpark Annexation

The Irvine-based Messenger INvestment Co. owns a 4,000-acre parcel northeast of Moorpark. If it is annexed, it could eventually incorporate about 3,000 housing units, increasing the city’s population by an estimated 9,000 people. An additional 300 acres adjacent to the Messenger parcel is also being considered for annexation.

Source: Moorpark Planning Department