MOORPARK : Council to Consider Developer’s Plan

The Moorpark City Council has agreed to accept an application from a developer seeking to build 216 homes and two golf courses on 655 acres in the northwest area of the city over the concerns of some council members who see the project as too intensive.

The proposal by Bollinger Development features a public golf course, which the developer estimates could earn the city up to $1 million annually, and an adjacent semiprivate course.

Because the property is zoned for just one home per five acres, the plan would require an amendment to the city’s General Plan. The council Wednesday was asked to rule on whether such an application could go forward or whether the plan so violated the city’s development blueprint that there was no way it would be approved.

The council had seen a version of the development three years ago, but that project was derailed because the property was partly owned by embattled financier Olen B. Phillips.

Golfers and Phillips’ investors, some of whom have substantial savings tied up in the property, urged the council to approve the development.

“This golf course has the potential to not only make a profit for the community but to be something that the community can be proud of,” said city resident Phil Lee.

Camarillo resident Donald Thomas said he represented the 37 limited partners and 100 other investors with money tied up in the property.

“None of us are rich,” he said. “We put our trust in an individual that let us down.”

Mayor Paul Lawrason said he was concerned by the density and the grading the project would require, but joined a 4-1 vote to allow the application.

Only Councilman Bernardo Perez voted against the proposal. “The sugar plums are already dancing in some of the speakers’ minds,” he said. “I don’t see anything dramatically different to justify moving forward.”