Ventura County Planners Reject Housing Project

Planning commissioners for Ventura County rejected the proposed $1-billion Ahmanson Ranch housing project Friday, setting the stage for a final vote next week on the mini-city proposed for the rolling hills at the Los Angeles County line.

“Ventura County does not want to become another Orange County, and chipping away at the borders is the way to do that,” Commissioner Betty Taylor said.

The commissioners recommended 4 to 1 that the Board of Supervisors deny the Ahmanson Land Co. application to build a 3,050-dwelling community on 2,800 acres in the Simi Hills.

Supervisors are to take up the matter Tuesday, and a majority of them have endorsed the project in concept. It was not clear whether the Planning Commission’s vote will affect the outcome.

“If I were betting, I would bet that it could probably go 3 to 2 in favor,” said board Chairman John K. Flynn, who counts himself as the swing vote.

Explaining their votes, planning commissioners said the developer’s offer to set aside 10,000 acres for public parkland made the project appear more attractive. Still, most said they feared that Ahmanson Ranch would set a precedent for building in other areas of Ventura County.

Ahmanson Land Co. President Donald Brackenbush left Friday’s hearing without comment. But another firm executive, Bob DeKruif, said he did not consider the vote a setback. “We’re very optimistic,” DeKruif said.

He has reason for optimism. Declaring their conceptual support, a majority of supervisors voted last December to put the project on a fast track.

Supervisor Maria VanderKolk, a key supporter, said Friday that the Planning Commission vote was predictable because the commission’s role is to uphold county policies, which state that new communities should be built within or adjacent to cities.

There is no Ventura County city adjacent to the sprawling 5,433-acre Ahmanson sheep ranch, although Calabasas and Los Angeles flank it to the east and south.

Project opponents said they are heartened by the commissioners’ vote.

“I think it sends a clear message to the supervisors that the county’s planning guidelines need to be upheld,” said Mary Wiesbrock, director of the Agoura-based Save Open Space.