Landowners Criticize Plan to Create Greenbelt : Development: Building would be restricted on 4,800 acres between Ventura and Oxnard to stem urban sprawl.

Landowners blasted Ventura and Oxnard officials Wednesday for considering a 4,796-acre greenbelt agreement between their cities that would restrict development of prime farmland for at least 30 years.

The proposed greenbelt would stretch north from Wooley Road in Oxnard to the Southern Pacific railroad tracks in Ventura, and would be bordered by Victoria Avenue on the east and Harbor Boulevard on the west.

The land is unincorporated and zoned for agricultural use but in line to be annexed. The portion north of the Santa Clara River is designated to be annexed by Ventura, and the area south of the river will eventually become part of Oxnard. Environmentalists are also pushing to add 1,200 acres north of Teal Club Road, between Victoria Avenue and Patterson Road.

About 100 landowners, environmentalists and residents came to an informal meeting Wednesday evening at Ventura City Hall to discuss the proposed greenbelt. City officials answered questions and handed out pamphlets detailing the plan.

Ventura city staff will answer any comments in writing, said Pat Richardson, a senior planner. “We wanted it to be a non-confrontational format,” he said. “There will be plenty of opportunities for confrontation later.”

Richardson said he expected landowners to protest the greenbelt when the proposal is considered by the two city councils in a few months.

Some landowners in the affected area said they are vehemently against the greenbelt because they want to reserve the option of profiting from the sale of their land to developers.

Developers can always push to build in the unincorporated area, but a greenbelt agreement would make that more difficult, officials and landowners said.

Landowners should be allowed to do what they want with their parcels, said developer Kevin Bernzott, head of the Oxnard-based McGaelic Group, a partnership that owns 200 acres south of West 5th Street in Oxnard. “I love these people who say, ‘We’ve got to save our ag land,’ ” he said. “Just whose ag land is it?”

The area is considered some of the best farmland in the nation, and about 100 landowners will be affected, officials from both cities said.

For decades, farmers have been growing lemons, strawberries, celery, cabbage and lettuce in the proposed greenbelt area. Urban sprawl from both Ventura and Oxnard border the area, and officials from both cities say they want to make sure that it doesn’t spread farther.

“They want to take the money and run,” Ventura Councilwoman Cathy Bean said. “I think the greater good of the community must be served over individual desires to become rich overnight.”

Dee Roper and her fiance, John Lockwood, who own about 25 acres in the proposed greenbelt, said they have no intention of developing it any time soon. The land is leased out to farmers, said Roper, who favors the idea of a greenbelt.

“But I can see the other point of view,” Roper said. “It’s worth about 10 times more if you develop it, than if you keep it agriculture.”

Roper estimated that an acre of agriculture is worth about $25,000 to $40,000 and an acre with development potential is worth $250,000 or more.

Ventura and Oxnard officials began informal discussions a year ago, and both councils are expected to consider the agreement in a few months. The Local Agency Formation Commission--which guides development in the county’s unincorporated areas--and the Board of Supervisors would then consider the proposal.

A greenbelt agreement has no legal authority but is a policy statement in which agencies pledge not to build on farmland. There are five such agreements in Ventura County. Agricultural experts estimate that the county loses 1,500 acres of farmland to development each year.

“One of the primary attractions of Ventura County is agriculture,” Oxnard Councilman Michael Plisky said. “If we don’t retain some of our rural characteristics, we’ll lose both the tourism and the agricultural industries.”

Proposed Greenbelt

Ventura and Oxnard are considering a 4,796-acre greenbelt between the two cities that would prevent development for at least 30 years. Environmentalists want to add additional 1,200 acres to the greenbelt.