CAMARILLO : Council Decides to Annex Farmland

The Camarillo City Council on Wednesday decided that it would rather annex 120 acres north of the airport and open it to development rather than leave the farmland under county control and risk unwanted projects.

After spending nearly an hour discussing how to preserve farmland, the council voted unanimously to recommend that the McGrath family parcel be included within city boundaries.

“We need to annex this property so we can control what goes in there,” Councilwoman Charlotte Craven said.

The recommendation will be forwarded to the county’s Local Agency Formation Commission, which makes decisions about such boundary changes. It also means that the acreage would be planned for commercial and industrial land uses, except for a small strip of mixed-use zoning nearest the freeway.

Twice in recent years, the Camarillo City Council has refused to consider annexing the land because of concern for diminishing farmlands.

Property owner Roz McGrath said she wanted the land within city limits so her family could donate two or three acres to the Ventura County Museum of History and Art’s planned agriculture exhibit hall. The museum could not be located on the parcel without the city rezoning the property.

McGrath said she and her family had no intention of developing the 120-acre office and business park called for in long-range planning documents. Instead, she said she envisions an expanded Central Market of 20,000 square feet next door to their working farm and the farming museum.

“It’s amazing to me what people do not know about farms,” McGrath told the council.