VENTURA : Store Owner Sues to Stop Mall Expansion

A longtime Ventura businessman has gone to court to prevent the owners of the Buenaventura Mall from bulldozing the uncovered portion of the shopping center to make room for an expansion.

Roger Kritz of Santa Barbara, who owns Creative Stereo next to Circuit City, said the property owners deliberately withheld their plans for adding to the center when he negotiated his 10-year lease four years ago.

“I never would have . . . gone through the agony of moving,” he said. “All they had to tell was they’re going to expand.”

Officials at MaceRich Inc., the Santa Monica real estate company that owns Buenaventura Mall, declined to comment on the lawsuit, which was filed last month in Los Angeles.

“When and if we’re served with (the lawsuit), we’ll defend it vigorously,” said MaceRich attorney Patrick K. Prinster.

Kritz said he opened Creative Stereo near the intersection of Seaward Avenue and Main Street 15 years ago but jumped at the chance in 1989 to improve his location.

“I have a huge investment in there,” he said. “It’s where the action is. That’s why I went there.”

Seven businesses would be relocated under mall expansion plans, a Buenaventura Mall leasing agent said.

A public hearing is scheduled Thursday before the Ventura City Council to accept comments on a draft environmental impact report on the expansion.