OXNARD : Housing Proposal Is Attacked at Hearing

Critics have attacked a proposed housing project south of the Oxnard Airport, saying it would raise the odds of a plane crash, increase noise complaints, strain already crowded schools and fail to provide affordable housing.

The criticism surfaced at a public hearing on the project’s draft environmental impact report held Thursday before the Oxnard Planning Commission.

Proposed by the Orange-County based Allwin Development Corp., the 51-acre project on the southwest corner of Patterson Road and 5th Street would include 33 single-family homes and 151 condominiums on the southern half of the site. A business and research park would be built later on the portion fronting 5th Street.

The city’s elementary and high school districts criticized the project, saying that current enrollment already exceeds the capacity at the districts’ schools.

“Clearly the assertion that the project will have no impact on adequacy of school facilities is not correct,” said Marilyn J. Cleveland, an attorney representing the city’s elementary school district.

The project’s proximity to Oxnard Airport also prompted criticism from pilots and the Ventura County Department of Airports. Airport administrator Mal MacInen questioned the report’s conclusion that the chance of an accident is remote.

The project was also criticized by Barbara Macri-Ortiz of the Channel Counties Legal Services Assn., who noted that no low-income housing has been built in Oxnard since 1989 and that none was proposed as part of this project.

The 45-day comment period ends Monday. New hearings will be set when the draft report is revised and a final environmental report is issued.