Ventura City Council Votes for Greenbelt : Environment: The measure, if approved by Oxnard’s council, would curtail development of farmland between the two cities for at least five years.

After two hours of intense debate, the Ventura City Council on Monday voted unanimously to establish a greenbelt that would curtail development of almost 5,000 acres of farmland between Ventura and Oxnard.

The greenbelt, which must still be approved by the Oxnard City Council, would establish a buffer zone between both cities for at least five years.

About three dozen people representing environmental and pro-growth interests squared off in a public hearing before the City Council cast its vote Monday night, with each side in the end refusing to claim victory or admit defeat.

“With the five-year clause, it doesn’t send as strong a signal about preserving the area,” said Councilman Todd Collart in an interview before the meeting. “But if that’s what it takes to get the greenbelt established, I can go along with that.”

Oxnard city officials will consider joining in the agreement in the next few months. The Oxnard Planning Commission, which recently deadlocked on the greenbelt issue, is scheduled to consider it again at its meeting Thursday.

Both supporters and opponents of the greenbelt agreement see the five-year clause, which could be extended, as a chance to regroup for another showdown later.

Pro-development advocates said it gives them time to rally community support to develop the area. Supporters of the greenbelt said it gives them five years to work toward buying development rights from property owners to stop development.

“People do not have the right to build whatever they want on their property,” said Al Sanders, president of the local chapter of the Sierra Club, who spoke in favor of the greenbelt. “Imagine how Ventura would look if people were allowed to build whatever they wanted on their property.”

About 1,700 acres of the 4,796-acre greenbelt are on Ventura’s side of the Santa Clara River. Most of the greenbelt lies south of the Santa Clara River and will eventually be annexed by Oxnard.

The greenbelt encompasses land north of Wooley Road in Oxnard to the Southern Pacific Transportation Co. railroad tracks near the Ventura Harbor. On the west and east, it is bordered by Harbor Boulevard and Victoria Avenue.

The area is unincorporated county land, but already zoned only for agricultural use. Both Ventura and Oxnard plan to eventually annex portions of the area, and their long-term planning guides call for the area to remain agricultural until at least the year 2010.

Unlike zoning laws, a greenbelt agreement is not legally binding and is only a policy statement in which Ventura and Oxnard promise not to develop in the area. The area is zoned as agricultural until 2010.

But environmentalists say that the greenbelt designation would serve as a strong political statement, while at the same time providing added protection for the land. For example, any future requests for a zoning change would have to be approved by both cities and the county.

Property owners, on the other hand, say that the designation would rob them of the right to sell or develop their land.

“It’s our property. We should more or less be allowed to do what we want with it,” said Joe McGrath, whose family owns about 200 acres in the area.

A group of about a dozen landowners have banded together to draft a long-term development plan for the area. They have approached the Santa Barbara-based Berkus Group to discuss presenting a development proposal to the Ventura City Council at a later date. No plan has been drafted yet, property owners said.

The area is now being farmed with citrus and vegetable crops. Some farmers in the greenbelt say they plan to continue farming, but oppose greenbelt status because they want to reserve the option of profiting from the sale of their land to developers.

“We’ve got a viable farming operation,” said Charles McConica, who is in a partnership that farms 55 acres of lemons. “We are not pro-development, but we’re not anti-development. A greenbelt destroys everybody’s options.”

Councilman James Monahan argued that designating the area a greenbelt is harmful to farmers because it is more difficult for them to borrow money from banks.

“The bank doesn’t have any collateral,” Monahan, who has voted consistently in favor of development, said prior to Monday night’s meeting. “They don’t want to go into the farming business.”

Environmental proponents argued that it is vital to keep the area agricultural because it is the county’s largest industry. The land would also act as a buffer between Oxnard and Ventura.

“It should remain agricultural,” said Councilman Gary Tuttle, who opposes development in the greenbelt. “It’s aesthetically pleasing, and the cities won’t grow together.”

Tuttle said the five-year clause “is sort of meaningless because anytime you get a new council they can review anything.”

Proposed Greenbelt A proposed 4,796-acre greenbelt between the cities of Ventura and Oxnard would restrict development for at least five years. Some landowners in the affected area are against the proposal because they want to develop their property.