CAMARILLO : New Lawsuit Filed Over Outlet Mall
The president of the Oxnard Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday filed a second lawsuit against the city of Camarillo over its approval of a planned factory outlet mall.
The suit, filed in Ventura County Superior Court by Stephen J. Maulhardt, argues that the city sidestepped state environmental guidelines when it approved the mall last month.
The suit also alleges that the city’s promise to refund up to $500,000 in tax revenues to the mall developer constitutes an illegal gift of public funds, which Maulhardt said is his biggest complaint.
Maulhardt filed his first lawsuit over the project last October after the City Council gave tentative approval to the tax refund to the developer, the Koll Leonard partnership.
He said he filed a second suit because the initial legal challenge became moot when the council approved the final project.
Camarillo and Oxnard are in a race to become the home of Ventura County’s first outlet mall. Some Camarillo officials have charged that Maulhardt is acting on behalf of Oxnard business interests who want to block construction of the Camarillo project.
But Maulhardt said he is only trying to protect his business, a 50-acre industrial center located about 4 miles west of the Koll Leonard property.
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